960 DR THOMAS R. FRASER ON STROPHANTHUS HISPIDUS. 



of the comose appendages is manipulated, no alkaloid could be detected in the products 

 that were obtained. 



To summarise this historical sketch, in so far as it relates to the pharmacology and 

 chemistry of Strophanthus, previously to the publication of my papers of 1870 and 1872, 

 only two brief notices appeared on its pharmacological action, both of which dealt merely 

 with the nature of the action on the heart ; while during the interval of fifteen years 

 that elapsed between the publication of my first paper and the subsequent communication 

 of 1885, one paper of much interest, though adding but little to the existing knowledge, 

 was published on the pharmacological action, and also only one paper on the chemistry 

 of Strophanthus, which, however, did not advance the knowledge of the chemistry of the 

 subject. 



Following upon the publication of the paper of 1885, on the therapeutical applications 

 of Strophanthus hispidus, the literature of the subject has, however, very rapidly 

 increased, and it now embraces upwards of a hundred separate papers. 



Until 1885, also, Strophanthus, elsewhere than in Africa, was a mere curiosity, repre- 

 sented in a few museums by specimens of its flowers, follicles, or seeds. Since that 

 time it has become a not inconsiderable article of commerce, several tons of seeds having 

 been exported from Africa by London merchants alone, in order to supply the require- 

 ments of medical practice. 



A. NATURAL HISTORY. 



1. Use in Africa as an Arrow-Poison, and Description of Arrows. 



In nearly every narrative of exploration in uncivilised tropical regions accounts are 

 given of poisonous substances, which in many instances are stated to possess remarkable 

 properties. Usually these poisons are of vegetable origin, and nearly all of them may be 

 included in the two great divisions of Ordeal and of Arrow poisons. Among the most 

 interesting of the Ordeal poisons are the Physostigma venenosum, and the Akazga 

 or Akaja, or M'boundou of West Tropical Africa ; the Sassy, or Muave, or Casca 

 (ErythrophlcBum) of wide distribution over Africa ; and the Tanghinia venenifera of 

 Madagascar : and of the Arrow poisons, the Antiaris toxicaria and Strychnos Tieute of 

 Java; the Aconitum ferox of China and India ; and the famous Wourali or Curare poison 

 of South America. 



As I have previously stated, it is also to the enterprise and discriminating observation 

 of explorers and missionaries that we are indebted for the interest in the Kombe arrow- 

 poison, which has led to the examination of its properties and to the appreciation of its 

 value as a therapeutic agent ; and several of them have collected valuable as well as 

 curious information regarding it. 



Dr Livingstone, describing the employment of poisoned arrows for killing buffaloes 



