16 



Short Handles. — Occasionally, the form of the root or 

 handle part is attractive, while the stick itself is weak and 

 defective ; in such cases the handles only should be sent, and 

 they should measure from 15 to 18 inches in length. 



Send only Specimens in the first instance. — In sending 

 specimens of new sticks, it is better to send only small quan- 

 tities, say, one or two dozen at most of each kind, then, if ap- 

 proved, further quantities can be asked for. 



All kinds op Wood. — Specimens of anything remarkable 

 for foi m or colour, whether in the roots or the stems, of woody, 

 herbaceous or reedy structures should be sent, as sometimes 

 the most unlikely things are found to possess value, for use 

 either as umbrella handles, or walking sticks. 



Details. — Details as to quantity to be procured, prices, 

 &c, should be sent if possible." 



Indigenous Medicinal Plants. — So much has been written 

 and said about the value of some of the species of Monwnia as 

 remedies in dysentery that it scarcely seems worth while for 

 one who has no medical knowledge to add more to it, still I 

 venture here to give an extract from a letter which I received 

 from Dr. Elliot who was stationed at the Imperial Base 

 Hospital at Deelfontein. I met this gentleman in the Gardens, 

 and after some conversation, he said that as they had many 

 cases of dysentery, he would like to try the Monsonia, of which 

 he had heard, I therefore told him that he would be able to 

 obtain some of the tincture prepared from the plant supplied 

 by me from Mr. Elgie, of Durban. Dr. Elliot's chief objection 

 to this remedy appeared to be that the dose of the tincture was 

 larger than he cared to administer in serious cases, but he 

 would like to try an infusion instead of a tincture, if he could 

 obtain some of the dried plant, fortunately we had a little of it 

 in stock and supplied him with a small quantity, and on 

 February 17th he wrote me as follows : — 



" I have waited until now before reporting on the Monsonia 

 biflora, as I was anxious to give it a fair trial. We have used 

 it in two forms : — 



1. Tincture which I obtained from Mr. Elgie, of Durban. 



2. Fresh infusion made from the plant which you so kindly 

 sent to me Recently I obtained from Mr. Elgie a further 

 supply of the tincture. In a fair number of cases the drug has 

 answered extremely well, in a few cases the benefit has been 

 less striking, and in a certain number it has apparently been 

 without effect. It may be that in these cases insufficient dosage 



