2S2 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[October 12, 1872, 
of parenchyma, with vascular Lundies, enclosed 
within two external layers of semi-compressed cells, 
or false cuticles. Tlie cells of the parenchyma are 
of irregular shape, thin walled, and not pitted or 
porous. The vascular vessels are composed of pitted 
and spiral vessels, neither the bundles nor vessels 
being of large size or otherwise remarkable. The 
only interesting point is the presence of great num¬ 
bers of rapliides and prisms, probably of phosphate 
of lime. Gum and uncrystallizable sugar form the 
other cell contents. The powder should contain G to 
10 per cent, of the rapliides and prisms. The other 
structures are of course easily recognizable. The 
only probable adulterants are flour and starches, 
the presence of which will easily be detected. 
Serpentabwe Radix. —This is very much more dif¬ 
ficult to deal with than most of the roots of the 
Pharmacopoeia, on account of its aberrant character. 
As is probably well known to most of my readers, 
the following natural orders present very remarkable 
instances of departure from the usual type of stem 
and root structure. Specimens of many of them may 
be found on the quays and lying about the ware¬ 
houses of Manchester, Liverpool and other places 
where Brazilian cotton is stored. The bales in which 
this cotton arrives are commonly secured with “ na¬ 
tural ropes,” formed of the Llanos, or climbing plants 
of the region where the cotton is exported. Amongst 
these aberrant stems, those of Sapindacese, MaL 
pighiaceae, Bignoniaeeae, Bauhiniacese and Aristolo- 
chiaceae are perhaps the most interesting. In the 
first two, part of the vascular bundles remain sepa¬ 
rate, and become secondary cylinders of wood, the 
whole being surrounded generally by a common 
bark. Frequently in Sapindacere the compound 
stem is triangular, and the wood cylinders thoroughly 
individualized, giving the cursory observer the im¬ 
pression that it is a natural graft of three stems. 
But this, as Schleiden has shown, would be an erro¬ 
neous conclusion. In Bignoniaceie the wood in 
certain portions of the stem ceases to grow, and its 
place is occupied by cortical substance which is 
easily removed, and leaves the wood cylinder with 
four to seven deep indentations. This is a common 
kind amongst the cotton bale Llanos. In Baulii- 
nia the whole structure is often very confused, the 
medullary rays run in radiating curves, and with 
the exception of a medulla and vascular central 
cylinder, the “wood” is chiefly parenchymatous. 
But the Aristolocliiacese carry off the palm for their 
departures from the normal type, and for their varia¬ 
tions amongst themselves. Some one or other mem¬ 
ber of the family is to be found in the collection of 
most microscopists, they being favourite objects 
when viewed either by polarized light or dark ground 
illumination. The Serpentaria of the B. P. is not 
so pretty, nor perhaps so interesting an object as 
most of the Aristolochiae, but I think it “ sports ” 
more. This renders it difficult to draw up a de¬ 
scription that shall be generally applicable. The 
rhizome and rootlets will require separate notice. 
The structure of the rootlet is generally this. A 
central cylinder is surrounded by a largely developed 
cortical substance. The central cylinder in the 
smaller rootlets consists of little else than large, well 
pitted vessels and wood cells. The cells of the outer 
substance are large, tliick-walled, polygonal in cross 
section, and contain great quantities of starch. The 
larger rootlets agree pretty much with the rhizome, 
where we find the aberrant structures common to 
the order. The central cylinder is surrounded by 
cells containing a dark fluid. 
Medulla. —Present, well developed, and composed 
of large cells with thick walls, circular or hexagonal 
in cross-section, sometimes thin-walled and irregu¬ 
larly shaped; their contents are great quantities of 
starch. The medullary rays are remarkably large, but 
not invariably so, and vary in number (in the same 
sized root or rhizome), from 6 to 40 or 50. They 
are usually wedge-shaped, the broad end of the 
wedge being towards the circumference of the stem, 
and composed of oblong, oval, or cubical cells, ex¬ 
cepting where given off from the medulla, with 
which their connection is very evident, where they 
are, of course, approximated to the medulla cells. 
The wood wedges consist of large-sized vascular 
vessels, very much pitted. The wood cells vaiy 
widely. Near the medulla they are much thickened, 
and their central cavity is barely visible in cross- 
section. In the centre and near the cortical sub¬ 
stance they are but little thickened, and are of irre¬ 
gular size and shape. 
The cortical layers are cliiefly remarkable for 
then* liber bundles'and laticiferous canals containing 
a yellowisli-brown matter. 
The starch granules are either aggregate and con¬ 
sisting of three or four granules, or separate granules, 
with an indistinct punctate hilum, and give the 
usual black cross with polarized light. 
In examining the rhizome, sections should be cut 
between the points where the rootlets are given off 
and also at those points, the structure being subject 
to important modiffcation in all cases where a root¬ 
let or other bud is given off. In older rhizomes the 
cortical and medulla cells have much thickened walls, 
and are frequently stained brown, apparently by 
transfusion from the vessels. 
Zingiber. —The rhizome of Zingiber officinale con¬ 
sists of four classes of structure. The outer, cortical, 
structure (removed from the finer lands) consists of 
angular cells of a more or less yellowish-brown 
colour, thin-walled and containing a substance which 
becomes semi-mucilaginous on immersion in water. 
The structures below this are large, thin-walled, 
variously shaped parenchyma cells, dotted vessels, 
and very minutely pitted long wood cells with square 
or fusiform ends ; and specialised cells containing a 
rich yellow coloured substance. The parenchyma 
cells contain great quantities of starch in the form of 
flat oval discs composed of somewhat distinct separate 
layers, and not very energetically doubly refractive. 
In shape they resemble the granules of East India 
arrowroot somewhat closety, but have not so distinct 
a hilum and are somewhat smaller. 
The vessels are barred, tliin-walled, and enclosed, 
in ones or twos, in bundles of long woody fibres, which 
are slightly pitted and are probably to be regarded 
as vasa propria. In ground ginger of good quality 
there should be but few of the angular, cubic, or 
compressed cells of the epidermis. The cells of the 
parenchyma will be found much broken, and the 
starch will have escaped from them. The wood 
fibres of ginger form a small proportion to the other 
structures, are considerably longer than other fibres 
likely to be used as adulterants, and the starch 
granules are very distinct from those of wheat, rice, 
potato, or maize, the common adulterants. The 
3 r ellow cells resemble those of turmeric rather closely, 
but form only a small proportion of the total cells. 
Cayenne pepper and mustard husks are said to be 
