THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[April 20, 1872. 
851 
scarcely altered; but it is contrary to tbe results of 
analysis to assign it a composition similar to that of leaf 
sap. It is, however, admitted that certain insects 
possess the faculty of determining the production of 
manna. Thus it is to the punctures of a coccus that 
Ehrenberg and Heimprich attribute the formation of 
the manna which is still found on the mountains of 
Sinai. 
The manna falls to the ground from the air (that is 
to say, from the summit of a tree and not from the sky). 
The Arabs call it 'man, and they, as well as the Greek 
monks, collect it to cat upon bread in the same way as 
honey. I have myself seen it fall, collected it, and 
brought it to Berlin with the plant and the remains of 
the insect. This species of manna is produced by 
Tamarix man if era, Ehr. As with many other mannas 
it is the result of the punctures of an insect, which in 
the present case is Coccus tnanniparus, Id. and Ehr. 
(Berthelot, Ann. de Chim. ct de Phys ., ser. 3, lxvii. 83.) 
The manna, consequently, collected in 1869 at Lieb- 
frauenberg, had not the same origin as the Sinai manna, 
though it had the same composition. At the time of its 
appearance upon the lime no insects were observable. It 
was later that a few aphides were seen glued upon a 
certain number of the leaves. 
I have already stated that after having washed the 
extremity of a branch, glutinous points were seen gradu¬ 
ally to rise ; at first scarcely perceptible, they increased 
each day, so as finally to cover the whole of the ripper 
surface of the leaf. This slow and progressive develop¬ 
ment of the honev-dew was clearly effected without the 
intervention of aphides, which did not make their appear¬ 
ance till subsequently, like the flies and bees, either to 
feed upon the secretion or to pilfer it. 
In a subsequent number (Feb. 12th) Harting states 
that honey-dew is produced by Aphis tiiicc, which, living 
on the under surface of the leaves of the lime, drops its 
excrement on the upper surface of the leaves beneath. 
Analysed by Gunning at Amsterdam, it proved to con¬ 
sist of cane sugar. Boussingault remarked, in reply, 
that the manna of Liebfrauenberg, like the Sinaitic 
manna analysed by Berthelot, contained, in addition to 
cane sugar, fruit sugar and dextrine. He added, also, 
that the leaves of the lime contain considerable amounts 
of cane sugar almost pure, the origin of which could not 
be attributed to insects.” 
[A paper by Goethe (OH acres d'Histoire Nat., par 
Martins, pp. 321-328) contains a similar conclusion. 
He says (p. 321), “ I have seen limes, of which the 
leaves seemed varnished, but where not a single insect 
was visible. The juice is secreted by the plant itself.” 
Mr. Hanbury informs me that he has noticed the exu¬ 
dation of a saccharine matter from a Canella, and that 
after repeated cleansings it still made its appearance. 
He has seen also the occurrence of minute crystals of 
sugar upon the corolla of the Azalea. De Candolle 
mentions the same thing in Rhododendron ponticum 
(Phys. Vey. i. 238). This is, however, different to the 
cocretion which takes place on leaves, because it is pro¬ 
bably merely due to the loss of water from the flower 
preparatory to fading. 
De Candolle remarks that granular secretions are 
found on the young shoots of the larch, and are collected 
locally under the name of manna of Brianijon; they 7 
also occur on Salix alba, and upon some other trees. 
“We cannot affirm,” he say 7 s, “ either that they are a 
natural excretion, or that they 7 are produced by insects ” 
(l. c. p. 240). Dr. Masters states in the ‘Treasury 7 of 
Botany 7 ’ (p. 38) that a manna-like substance is produced 
from species of alhagi, and that it is an exudation from 
the leaves and branches of the plant only appearing 
in hot weather. Saline secretions from leaves have been 
more frequently observed. De Saussure states that an 
accumulation of saline matters at their surface often 
•occurs in garden vegetables, transpiration being impeded, 
he leaves are ultimately destroyed ( Rccherches, 264, 265). 
De Candolle found a saline secretion from the leaves of 
a Reaumuria to consist of carbonates of soda and 
potash (Phys. Vey. i. 237).] W. T. D. 
Mr. Douglas, of Loxford Hall Gardens, Ilford, informed 
us after the meeting that he has some-orange trees at the 
back of a cucumber-house which are frequently affected with 
honcy r -dew, though no green-ily ever gets near them, and 
that he has long been perfectly satisfied that honey-dew is 
not the result of insect agency.— Editor of Gardeners' 
Chronicle. 
|toliamtntar2 anir ftato fratetijrags. 
HOUSE OF LORDS. 
The Adulteration of Liquors. 
Tuesday, April 16 th, 1872. 
In the course of the speech made when introducing 
the Bill relating to the sale of intoxicating liquors, the 
Earl of Kimberley stated that in it he proposed dealing 
with the adulteration of liquors. He said that nothing 
was more discreditable than the adulteration now prac¬ 
tised ; and that there was something so peculiar about 
public-house beer compared with that procured direct 
from the brewer, that he had always thought it best to 
avoid it. He read a description that had been furnished 
to him of a process of adulteration frequently practised, 
by substituting a mixture of “foots” and water, to¬ 
gether with salt and copperas, for a portion of the beer 
originally contained in the barrel; and said that honest 
brewers and publicans, as well as the consumer, would 
welcome any reasonable provisions for preventing such 
adulterations. 
The Duke of Richmond said that the noble earl had 
given an account that would almost make a man think 
twice before touching a glass of beer again; but that he 
had contented himself with giving an account of the 
adulteration without saying how he meant to deal with 
it. _ 
HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
The Public Health Bill. 
Tuesday , April 1 6th, 1872. 
In answer to a question put by Mr. Rylands, whether 
there was any probability that the Public Health Bill 
would be proceeded with on Friday, the 26th inst., Mr. 
Gladstone said that he would inform the House in the 
course of a few day 7 s. 
The Adulteration of Liquors. 
Wednesday, April 17 th. 
In the course of the discussion upon Sir H. Selwin- 
Ibbetson’s Spirituous Liquor Bill, Mr. Watney said 
that he could not see why the question of adulteration 
should be dealt with at all in connection with this 
subject. Adulteration was common to all trades; and 
it would be more satisfactory if that branch of the sub¬ 
ject were dealt with in some such Bill as that brought 
in by the hon. member for Birmingham. 
Dr. Brewer said that he believed adulteration was 
far more common than was supposed; and it was not 
alway r s by water, but often by deleterious drugs. 
Mr. Greene said that the result of creating a mono¬ 
poly would be to place the trade in the hands of inferior 
brewers. It was impossible to adulterate good beer like 
that supplied by his hon. friend the member for 
Derby ; and the result of a monopoly would be to 
place such manufacturers at a disadvantage. 
Hospital Dispensing. 
On Tuesday, April 16th, Mr. Humphreys held an 
inquest in the Mile End Road, on the body of Anne 
Charlotte Head, aged 3. The deceased suffered from a 
