stagnant moisture is highly injurious to the whole 
tribe of succulents. To avoid this, a compost of 
equal parts of turfy loam, silver sand, broken mor- 
tar from old walls, and half-decayed leaves, should 
be used. In this we have found Aloes succeed 
admirably; always having used, as an indispens- 
able substructure, plenty of finely-broken drainers 
at the bottoms of the pots. 
Although Aloes, as a drug, is so well known, few 
persons are acquainted with its origin. Indeed it 
is with this, as with other medicines, particularly 
those from exotic vegetables, that circumstances 
combine, from the growth of the plant in the Indies, 
to the apothecaries’ boy at home, to keep us in 
blissful ignorance of what we consume in the shape 
of pills and unijalatables. Jussieu saw the method 
of preparing Aloes in Spain, and he states that 
the three sorts in commerce are j^roduced from one 
plant — the Aloe \ailgaris ; the finest, or Soccotrine, 
being the inspissated juice that would flow' sponta- 
neously from the incised leaves; whilst pressure 
produced the commoner sorts. 
The three varieties now in our dnig shops are, 
however, chiefly from different countries. The 
Soccotrine from Smyrna and Bombay, the produce 
of the Aloe soccotrina. The Barbadoes from Jama- 
ica and Barbadoes, produced by the Aloe vulgaris. 
The Cape Aloes from the Cape of Good Hope, the 
produce of Aloe spicata. So numerous are the 
species of Aloe within the tropics that it is more 
than probable, and generally believed, that the 
makers do not confine themselves to the use of a 
single species. 
