13 
Burke and Wills, to whom Mr. Hopwood, of Echuca was a con- 
tributor, and of whom Baron V. Mueller says : — “ Speciem 
“ appellavi in Jionorem prceclari, H. Hopwood , Hchucensis, fautoris 
“ liber alissima Expeditionis Victoriance .” Mr. Hodgkinson’s 
specimens were obtained on the western border of Queensland, 
in latitude 22° 53k The specimens of Anthocercis, named after 
Leichhardt, have no locality attached to them. 
In a recent trip to the heads of the Dawson Biver, about 
400 miles, amongst the numerous shrubs having leaves of the 
form of pituri, I found no traces of the plant. 
Of the medicinal uses of pituri little at present can be said. 
I have given it in some cases of extreme debility, but in doses 
much too small to enable me to speak of its value. I would 
expect it to be a tonic nervine that could be used along with 
alcohol, aether, and ammonia ; perhaps, also, with strychnia, to 
the action of which it has a great resemblance. 
I have given Duboisia in asthma and in photophobia. It 
causes much dilatation of the pupil and indistinct vision, also con- 
fusion of intellect, particularly at night, a thirsty dryness of the 
throat, and loss of taste. At present no valuable results, except 
the mydriatic, are apparent. An active principle, prepared by 
Mr. Staiger, when applied to one eye, dilates both, the effect 
lasting many days. Persons making the extract have on several 
occasions suffered paralysis of the iris by some unnoticed speck 
getting in the eye, as I suppose. Mr. Staiger does not find the 
active principle volatile. A slight tendency to the formation of 
crystals has been noticed in some preparations, but these have 
been too small in bulk to experiment upon. 
Dr. Eudall and Baron von Mueller were experimenting 
with Anthocercis viscosa, and noticed dilatation of the pupil in 
cats in April last. Their experiments at present have not been 
published. 
Since writing the foregoing, I have examined the seeds of 
the Duboisia with the microscope, and find them to be distinctly 
kidney-shaped, ^ of an inch long, and regularly covered with 
small pits. My son then looked over some pituri ^nd discovered 
the shell of one such seed which, tinder the microscope, was no 
way distinguishable from the Duboisia seeds. Persons looking 
over pituri for the seeds should bear in mind the form here 
mentioned, as a great variety of other seeds are to be found in 
the samples collected by the natives. Only reniform pitted seeds 
would be worth collecting for attempt at cultivating the pituri 
plant. 
JOSEPH BANCEOET, M.D. 
