154 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[August 20, 1870. 
and heavy dews fall at night both in winter and summer. 
The climate of the mountain region of Algeria is, there¬ 
fore, rainy and cold in winter. Algiers, being on the 
sea-level, is warmer; indeed, warmer than the north 
Mediterranean shores, but moist and rainy. The average 
rainfall is thirty-six inches; the average number of 
rainy days is ninety. The climate of Algiers, being 
thus mild and moist, is not suited to those cases of 
phthisis that require a dry bracing air, such as is found 
on the east coast of Spain and the Genoese Riviera. 
The treatment of drunkenness was considered in the 
Psychological Section, and the business of the Associa¬ 
tion was then closed by the concluding General Meeting, 
which measures in reference to the Medical Bill were 
decided upon. 
One of the most attractive features of the present 
meeting was the Annual Museum held in the Library, 
the Museum, and the Hall of the Newcastle Infirmary, 
in where all new objects of interest to the profession were 
exhibited, under the superintendence of Dr. Page, of 
Newcastle. Large numbers visited it. 
The principal exhibitions of objects interesting to 
Pharmaceutists were— 
H. B. Brady, Newcastle, chemical and pharmaceutical 
preparations, among which were samples of chloral, the 
hydrate of chloral, hydrate of bromal, and chloride of 
ethylidene, the last new anassthetic introduced by Dr. 
Liebreich; also a collection of medico-electrical appa¬ 
ratus, and a new mercurial lamp for calomel fumigation. 
Messrs. Calvert, Manchester; specimens of carbolic 
acid. 
Messrs. Ellis and Son, Ruthin; aerated and mineral 
waters. 
Messrs. Harvey and Reynolds, Leeds; clinical ther¬ 
mometers. 
Messrs. Hopkins and Williams, London; chemicals 
and pharmaceutical preparations, including Matthiessen’s 
apomorphia, and the crystallized tartrate of ammonia, 
in which Dr. Bastian found living organisms. 
Messrs. Orlando Jones and Co., London; bread and 
biscuits made of entire wheat flour. 
Messrs. Krohne ’and Suzeman, London; various in¬ 
struments. 
Messrs. Mayer and Mottyer, London; various instru¬ 
ments. 
Messrs. Newbery, London; French specialities, etc. 
Messrs. Savory and Moore, London; pepsine, pancrea¬ 
tine, and chemical food. 
GRANT COLLEGE MEDICAL SOCIETY, 
BOMBAY. 
July , 1870. 
A New Indian Remedy. 
BY MR. NARAYAN DAJI, GRADUATE OF THE GRANT 
MEDICAL COLLEGE. 
Ailanthus excelsa , Roxb.—Indian Ailanthus, Nat. Ord. 
Simarubacece .—In the following paper my object is to 
bring to the notice of the society a new indigenous article 
of materia medica yielded by the Indian Ailanthus , upon 
which I have experimented for some time past. My in¬ 
vestigations into the medicinal properties of this sim ple, 
cheap and agreeable vegetable bitter, have led me to 
form a favourable opinion of its efficacy in certain dis¬ 
eases. Believing that an extended notice of this ar¬ 
ticle, so common in many parts of India, might not 
be unacceptable to the members of the profession, I sub¬ 
mit this, communication to you, and trust that others 
may be induced, as opportunities offer, to determine for 
themselves its medicinal virtues. 
The bark of the Ailanthus excelsa , Roxb., which is the 
article in question, is interesting firstly on account of its 
being almost unknown to the medical profession; se¬ 
condly from the likelihood of its proving a useful substitute 
for one of the officinal drugs of the British Pharmacopoeia. 
The tree is pretty common in many parts of India, and 
its bark can be obtained in sufficient quantity for general 
use. If attention be paid to the cultivation of the tree, 
the bark will, no doubt, be found to be still cheaper, and 
being an indigenous product, its use will tend to our ad¬ 
vantage. 
Collection , Preservation , etc .—The only part of the tree 
which is commonly employed as a remedial agent is the 
bark, frequently of the trunk, and rarely of the root. 
The leaves are said to be occasionally used in medicine, 
but they are free from the characteristic bitterness of the 
bark. The usual season for collecting the bark is either 
the cold or the beginning of the hot season; during the 
rains the process should be stopped on account of the 
difficulty of drying it, a point requiring particular atten¬ 
tion. In order to strip the tree of its bark, it is conve¬ 
nient to fell it with a hatchet. When the tree is down 
and the useless smaller branches are cut off, the bark is 
easily removed by first striking it with the back of the 
hatchet, which causes the liber to loosen from off the sap- 
wood. Before this is done, the useless and thick corky 
layer (epiphlceum) must be scraped off. The bark is 
then cut longitudinally so as to admit of its being turned 
up by the hand, when it comes off in large pieces, which 
are further cut into small ones so as to expedite its dry¬ 
ing. The drying should be done as quickly as possible 
by exposing the pieces to the sun’s rays; at night they 
should be covered to avoid the effects of dew. The hy¬ 
groscopic nature of the active principle of the bark must 
be kept in view. If the precaution of early desiccation 
is not taken, a fermentive decomposition soon com¬ 
mences, the bark becomes mouldy, of a blackish colour, 
and begins to stink. A quantity of bark thus decom¬ 
posed was in my possession, which, on being subjected to 
the usual process of extracting its active principle, 
yielded a dark blue compound having the smell of an 
indigo-vat and apparently resembling indigo itself, and 
which tinged the comparatively small quantity of the 
bitter principle obtained. 
General Characteristics. —The bark of Ailan thus ex¬ 
celsa is in flat pieces, of various sizes and lengths, depend¬ 
ing upon the manner in which it is removed and pre¬ 
served. The largest pieces are sometimes one foot or 
more in length and about six inches in breadth, but on 
account of their friable nature, they easily go into small 
pieces by rough handling. In thickness the bark varies 
generally from a quarter of an inch to half an inch or 
more; the age of the tree, as well as the part from which 
the bark is chopped, much affect its thickness and general 
qualities. Its external surface is rough and irregular 
from a coat of corky layer (epiphloeum), which varies in 
thickness from two to four lines, and is marked with 
deep irregular furrows and protuberances; its colour 
varies from dirty-grey to yellowish-green; its substance 
is rather hard, gritty, and insipid. The derm (which in 
fact is the bark proper, consists of a porous outer portion 
(mesophloeum), and a compact inner portion (endo- 
phloeum). The former is about half an inch thick, of a 
uniform pale yellowish colour, porous, and fibrous. Its 
longitudinal section presents a reticulated fibrous struc¬ 
ture marked with numerous pores, in which here and 
there are observed concrete masses of gummy exudation 
(pectine), which is of a pale brownish colour and insipid.* 
Its transverse section is rough, granular, porous and 
somewhat lamellar. The inner portion of the bark (en- 
dophloeum or liber) is about a line in thickness, pale 
yellow, smoother and more compact than the outer 
portion. 
It is tough and fibrous, and, when fresh, sticky. In 
the fresh state the endophloeum and the mesophloeum, 
particularly the former, contain a glutinous and bitter 
substance of a deep orange colour which is the active 
principle in a state of combination. 
The mesophloeum is easily pulverizable, forming a 
* This is particularly seen in the bark of very old trees. 
