154 
REVIEW. 
a pea-like flavour. Their watery infusion, which is of a pink 
colour, becomes of a deep green on the addition of a persalt 
of iron, showing the principle in it to be allied to, if not 
identical with catechin . 
“Mr. Western gives two drachms of the powdered seeds, 
made into a soft ball, for three consecutive mornings, and on 
the fourth he combines with the same quantity a purgative 
agent. 
“ Mr. T. Hagger informed me that he was in the habit of 
resorting to the betel nut, the seed of the areca catechu , for 
the same purpose. Whenever indications of the existence 
of parasites were perceived, such as a staring coat, loss of 
appetite, and impaired condition, his plan was to withhold 
half the usual dose of aloes, and substitute for it one or two 
drachms of the betel nuts in powder. For worms in the dog, 
he found them equally efficacious, and he further states that 
the natives invariably use them as anthelmintics. To Mr. 
Western I am indebted for specimens of the flowers and 
seeds of this plant. Probably the beneficial effects of both 
of these agents may be referred to their astringent tonic 
action ; for by increased tone and vigour being given to the 
tissues, worms no longer find them a favorable habitat. In 
the same way, the simple vegetable bitters, as wormwood, 
rue, and quassia, have been found to act, by inducing a 
healthy state of the digestive organs, and not by their being 
offensive to worms, as was once thought. Kosso, or brayera 
anthelmintica , the flowers of a treegrowing in Abyssinia, and 
used there for destroying w orms for more than tw o centuries, 
has been tried w T ith questionable results for taenia . Its action 
is that of a purgative, although analysis gives the presence 
of tannic acid, to which its toxic influence on the worm has 
been attributed. Possibly its expensiveness w ill preclude its 
general use for the horse ; to which must be added the infre- 
quency of this parasite in him ; the lumbrici and ascarides being 
far more commonly met with ; and for the latter, oleaginous 
purges and enemata will prove the most effective agents for 
their removal.” 
“Morrhu^e Oleum, Oil of Cod. 
“This oil is both imported and procured in this country 
from the liver of the cod fish ( Oleum Jecinoris Aselli). It is 
obtained by boiling the liver of the fish, and also by allow ing 
this organ to undergo decomposition by exposure to the 
sun, when the oil escapes, and is caught in any convenient 
vessel. 
“ When properly prepared, it is straw coloured and trans- 
