30 



"indigenous to Durban and district has very powerful medicinal 

 "action in controlling- epidemic influenza and some forms of 

 "enteric, if this is so I should like to obtain some of the plant 

 " and try it. ' A few days nfterwards a circular letter from the 

 War Office was send for my perusal and for information about 

 the plant, I replied that some of the information in this letter 

 was taken almost verbatim ft om " Natal Plants," and I promised 

 to obtain leaves for trial. I asked Mr Wylie on his recent trip 

 to Zululand to keep a lookout for the plant and collect leaves 

 and young shoots, and have them dried, which he did, 3 sacks 

 of these leaves yielded when dry about 7Jbs, half of this was 

 sent to my Home correspondent, who was the first applicant, 

 the other half was handed over to Colonel McCormack, R. A.M.O. 

 for* transmission to England, with also a small quantity of the 

 dried twigs and young leaves for trial there. It will most likely 

 be some time before 'any reliable information will be received 

 about it, but it is my intention to have a few plants reared in 

 the Gardens, and seed collected in the season for distribution, 

 the plants in the Garden are unfortunately both male, and I 

 therefore wish to obtain female ones also, as even though the 

 plant should not be found t > have all the virtues it is credited 

 with, I still believe that it is not altogether without efficacy, 

 and in addition it is a very ornamental plant 



Ipomoea congesta — A small quantity of this plant consisting 

 of the stems and roots has been sent to Messrs Burroughs & 

 Wellcome as stated in my last Report, and since then they 

 have asked for a further supply which has been sent to them, 

 and it is to be hoped that the plant may be found to have some 

 value, it is not uncommon in the coast and midland districts, 

 and the natives uses it as an aperient. 



Monsonia ovata.— Oi this plant I have no further informa- 

 tion to report, the tincture is commonly used in cases of dys- 

 entery, but perhaps, not always with success. Seeds of the 

 plant have been distributed to most of our correspondents, but 

 I have no report as to the success of the plant in other countries, 

 here it grows almost as well as it does in the upper districts. 



Paspalum dilatatum. — The first person to bring this grass 

 to the notice of Natal farmers was I believe the Hon. F. R. 

 Moor, M.L.A. who on his return from Australia brought with 

 him some of the seeds, and gave very favourable accounts of its 

 value as a fodder grass. I had previously collected it at New- 

 castle, believing it to be P. scrobiculatum, a grass which is said 

 to be poisonous to cattle when in seed, a mistake which was 

 not rectified until I had collected the real P. scrobiculatum, 



