334 CHARACTERS AND EFFECTS OF DISEASED MEAT. 
tains a milk-juice ; it grows to the height of two feet, with a 
thickness like that of a goose-quill. The flowers are small, 
and of nearly the same colour as the leaves. Its root is 
perennial, and annually produces new shoots and stems. 
There are several kinds of polygala in Europe, two of which 
are used in medicine against the bite of reptiles. In order 
to apply this plant as a remedy, the Chinese gather a handful 
of the stalks, crush them, and cook them in water in which 
about two pounds of raw rice have been washed. The decoc- 
tion is effected by means of a water bath. The juice is then 
strained, and half a pint of it is administered to the patient, 
if he be an adult, and this draught is continued for several 
days, gradually diminishing the dose. Sometimes a single 
dose suffices for a radical cure. It is also administered to 
animals with their food, large cattle requiring a much larger 
quantity." 
A NEW KIND OE EORAGE. 
Prince Schartzenberg has lately made successful ex- 
periments in some of his farms for converting the leaves of 
the ash-tree into forage for cows. About 50 lb. of the leaves 
were, in October last, arranged in a tub with alternate layers 
of salt, and kept covered until the beginning of March, 
when they were taken out, mixed with chopped rye-straw, 
and given to the cows. This new food appeared so palatable 
to them that they would select the leaves with the greatest 
avidity, leaving the straw untouched. The leaves were then 
given to them without any mixture, and were eaten with the 
same relish. 
Extracts from British and Foreign Journals. 
THE CHARACTERS AND EEEECTS OE DISEASED MEAT. 
The Imperial Central Society of Veterinary Medicine of 
France, with a view of throwing light upon a very important 
question of public health, proposed the following subjects for 
a Prize Essay : — 
1. Is it possible to ascertain by the examination of butchers* 
meat, whether the animals that furnished it were in perfect 
health? 2. Are there any special and precise signs which 
enable us to determine whether butchers* meat (the animal 
