340 
CATTLE PLAGUE. 
merely possesses colour, is discarded from the Materia 
Medica. 
Vegetable ivory is a product of the seeds of a palm. The 
Spanish botanists, Riuz and Pavon, say of it, “ The Indians 
cover their cottages with leaves of this most beautiful palm ; 
the fruit at first contains a clear insipid fluid, by which 
travellers allay their thirst ; afterwards, this same liquor 
becomes milky and sweet, and it changes its taste by degrees 
as it acquires solidity, till at last it is almost as hard as ivory. 
The liquor contained in the young fruits becomes acid if they 
are cut from the tree and kept some time. From the kernels 
the Indians fashion the knobs of walking sticks, the reels of 
spindles, and little toys which are whiter than ivory, and as 
hard, if they are not put under water.” * 
The extended use of this vegetable has resulted in a ready 
method of adulterating the ground bones, which are so much 
used as a manure. Our agricultural friends will therefore 
find it to their advantage to grind the bones they employ, or 
if needs be, not to purchase ground bones or bone dust with- 
out first obtaining an analysis from the bulk. 
Palms are mostly tropical plants, but of late they have been 
favorites with the cultivator, where large glass houses are 
at hand ; a fine collection may be seen at Kew, to which we 
would refer the student who would w r ish to observe the 
grandeur, variety, and habits of the stately tribe of plants. 
Pathological Contributions. 
CATTLE PLAGUE. 
In France cattle plague is still spreading ; it exists now 
in three communes of Douai, and also in Lille, and in three 
arrondissements of Brest. The whole of the department 
of Cotes du Nord is infected, and the disease is raging at 
Leon. 
A fresh outbreak occurred at Berne, but active means were 
at once taken to prevent its spread. 
In Belgium no fresh cases have occurred, and the sources 
of contagion are presumed to be extinct; but the disease is 
raging all along the French frontier. 
According to reports from Berlin, Germany is free from 
cattle plague, and stringent precautions against the intro- 
* Vegetable Kingdom. 
