328 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS, 
[October 26,1872* 
PHARMACEUTICAL UTILITY OF BOTANICAL 
GARDENS. 
Botanic gardens and tlieir uses is a subject tliat 
lias been taken up and treated of very fully in a 
lecture by Dr. Yon Mueller, of Melbourne. Tlie 
great utility of a well-managed botanic garden in its 
various phases is pointed out, and he advocates that, 
in a pharmaceutical point of view, a botanic garden 
is not only an indispensable element in the educa¬ 
tion of the student, but is a constant and ready 
help through life. Dr. Mueller says :—“ For toxico¬ 
logical experiments in a botanic garden the various 
poison plants become of importance, irrespective 
of the guardianship, which the display of these 
plants in a living state so instructively exercises. 
Investigations of this kind require lengthened at¬ 
tention, the separation, analyses, and identification 
of organic poisons being surrounded with far more 
difficulty than the examination of metallic or other 
inorganic substances. Besides, the development or 
intensity of the deleterious principle depends often 
on local causes, which are not always within ready 
range of observation, or perhaps even involved in 
mystery, such as physiology and chemistry have 
hitherto striven in vain to clear away. The so- 
called Cape weed ( Cryptostemmci calendulacea) , for 
the presence of which I am not responsible, as it 
had already irrepressively invaded some parts of 
Australia as early as 1833, was recently subjected 
in my laboratory to examination, with a view of 
ascertaining whether any chemically separable 
active principle might produce the violent purging, 
terminating in acute, and often fatal dysentery, to 
which flocks occasionally become subject; but the 
investigation gave negative results. The deleterious 
effect arises, therefore, either merely from mechani¬ 
cal irritation and distension when sheep have 
gorged themselves with this weed, or it may be 
traceable to a locally developed poison, which in 
ordinary circumstances does not exist. The latter 
was ascertained to be the case by my own experi¬ 
ments as far as Swainsona Greyana, S. lesserticefolia, 
Lotus australis, Gastrolobium bilobum, and, perhaps, 
Stypandra glauca, are concerned. The two former 
cause in some localities cerebral affections in horses 
and other pastural animals, terminating in death; 
but the cultivated plants were found harmless. 
Gastrolobium, with some species of Oxylobium and 
Isotropis, the bane of the heath pastures of West 
Australia, has hitherto baffled all efforts to detect 
an antidote, but one of the most dreaded species, 
Gastrolobium bilobum, proved here in cultivation 
inert. Desert specimens of Lotus australis pro¬ 
duced in my local trials deadly effects on sheep, 
while our garden plant, or the fresh herb from the sand 
shores of Port Phillip, showed themselves innocuous. 
Stypandra glauca is reported to produce complete 
blindness of sheep in some districts of West Aus¬ 
tralia, the eyes, it is said, assuming a blue tinge 
throughout. Unless this grass lily has been con¬ 
fused with an alien and externally similar weed— 
namely, Agrostocrinum stypandroides —we have 
again a plant, which, with capriciousness, lias 
hitherto baffled our toxicologic experiments. An- 
guillaria and Bur chard ia, which early in the spring; 
sprinkle their pretty blossoms so universally over* 
the pastures of the whole of extra-tropic Australia* 
produce, so I have ascertained, innocuous bulbs,, 
although belonging to a tribe of plants which in¬ 
cludes the dreadfully deleterious veratrums and. 
sabadilla.” 
IPECACUANHA CULTIVATION IN INDIA. 
In the report of the Itoyal Botanical Garden at 
Calcutta for the year ending March 31st, 1872, the- 
superintendent, Dr. George King, refers to the pro¬ 
gress of the experiment which is now being made to 
propagate the ipecacuanha plant in India. At the- 
beginning of the year five plants in Sikkim and seven 
in the Calcutta garden represented the whole surviv¬ 
ing offspring of a single plant received from Dr.. 
Hooker in 1866. From the five Sikkim plants about 
four hundred cuttings were obtained, the greater* 
proportion of which have formed good roots, and 
were at the date of the report fine healthy little 
plants. During the year, the plants—about one- 
hundred—which last September* we informed our 
readers Professor Balfour had ready for transmission 
from the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens, have arrived 
at Calcutta in five Wardian cases, as well as about 
one hundred and fifty, hi three cases, from Messrs. 
Lawson, the eminent nurserymen. The climate of 
Calcutta having, however, proved totally unsuitable 
to ipecacuanha, all attempts to propagate it in the 
garden there have been abandoned, and the plants 
were, by an order of the Government, based on the 
experience of the late Dr. Anderson, forwarded as- 
soon as practicable to Sikkim, where the exper im ent 
of cultivation will be made under similar conditions, 
to that of cinchona. The propagation is being 
carried on under the immediate care of the European 
gardeners of the cinchona plantation, chiefly in one 
of the hot deep valleys of the llungbee reserve. 
Ipecacuanha appears to thrive best under deep shade,, 
and in a hot, steamy, equable climate, conditions 
which are fully supplied in the valleys of the outer 
slopes of the Sikkim Himmalaya. A small valley 
near Sookna has accordingly been taken up as an 
ipecacuanha reserve; and soon asplantscanbe spared*, 
experimental patches will be planted out at various 
places so as to discover the conditions of successful 
cultivation as soon as possible. 
Last week, at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge,, 
a Scholarship in Natural Science was awarded to* 
Mr. William Foster, F.C.S. Mr. Foster was 
Senior Bell Scholar in the Laboratory at Blooms¬ 
bury Square, during the Session 1869-70, and since 
that time has acted as one of the Gas Examiners 
under the Metropolitan Board of Works. 
* Pharm. J ourn. [3] vol. ii. p. 227. 
