948 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[May 25, 1872 
C 2 H 6 0 + PI Cl = C,H 5 C1 4- h 2 o 
C 2 H 6 0 + HCoH 3 0 2 = C 2 H 5 C 2 H 3 0 2 + h 2 o 
C 2 H c O + HoSO, = C 2 H- hso, + h 2 o 
etc. etc. 
Ordinary ethylic alcoliol is usually taken to be tlie 
type of tlie class of bodies known as “ alcohols.” 
They are characterized by giving, by double de¬ 
composition with acids, compounds similar to those 
above enumerated. The members of the group of 
primary alcohols to which common alcohol belongs 
furnish, when oxidized,aldeliyds and acids, containing 
in each molecule the same number of atoms of car¬ 
bon as themselves. Thus ordinary alcohol gives 
acetic aldeliyd and acid. 
2 C 2 H 6 HO + 0 2 = 2 C 2 H 3 OH + 2H 2 0 
Aidehyd. 
C 2 H 5 HO + 0 2 = C 0 H 3 OHO + h 2 o 
Acetic acid. 
Spiritus Tenuior. 
Take of 
Rectified Spirit, 5 volumes. 
Distilled Water, 3 volumes. 
Mix. 
The product has the specific gravity .920, and 
contains 49J parts of alcoliol in 100 Ly weight. 
REMARKS ON PLANTS FURNISHING VARIETIES 
OF IPECACUAN, AND ON THE CULTIVATION OF 
CEPHAELIS IPECACUANHA (RICH.) IN THE 
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN OF EDINBURGH. 
BY PROFESSOR BALFOUR.* 
Plants yielding various kinds of Ipecacuan belong to 
the Natural Orders Cinchonacete (Rubiacete, section 
Cinchonem), Violacete, Polygalacese, Asclepiadacem, and 
Euphorbiacem. 
In the Order Cinclionaceae, there are the following 
species: — 
1. Cephaelis Ipecacuanha (Rich.) which yields the an- 
nulated or Lisbon Ipecacuan of commerce. 
2. Psychotriaemetica (Mut.) .yieldingstriated Ipecacuan. 
3. Richardsonia scabra, St. Hilaire, furnishing white or 
undulated Ipecacuan. 
4. Borreria ferruginea , DO. 
5. Borreria Poaya , DO. 
6. Manettia cor difolia , Mart. 
In the Natural Order Violaceae, the following species 
are mentioned as furnishing emetic roots :— 
1. Ionidium Ipecacuanha , Aug. St. Hil. 
2. I. microphyllum, II.B.K. 
3. I. Poaya, Aug. St. Hil. 
4. I. parviflorum. Vent. 
5. I. brevicaule, Mart. 
6. I. urticcefolium, Mart. 
In the Natural Order Polygalacem we find the follow¬ 
ing species : —Polygala Poaya , Spix. and Mart. 
In the Natural Order Asclepiadaceto we have the fol¬ 
lowing species :— Tylophora astkmatica , W. and A. 
In the Natural Order Euphorbiaceae the following 
species is used:— Euphorbia Ipecacuanha, L. 
The roots of these plants have been used as emetics 
in various parts of the world, and they agree to a cer¬ 
tain extent in being more or less annulated or striated. 
Cephaelis Ipecacuanha of Richard, the true Ipecacuan 
plant, has been cultivated in the Edinburgh Botanic 
Garden for at least forty years; but it was not propa¬ 
gated to any extent until the recent demand for it in 
India. This demand arose from the destruction of the 
plants by the collectors in Brazil, and the fear expressed 
that ere long this valuable remedy for dysentery might 
become scarce and dear. The Secretary of State for 
India resolved to attempt the propagation of the plant 
in India. Being asked for a supply of plants from 
the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, I set about the propa¬ 
gation of it. Mr. M'Nab found that this could be 
x’cadily done by making cuttings of the annulated root. 
Auguste de Saint-Hilaire, in his ‘ Plantes usuc-lies dcs 
Brasiliens,’ alludes to the easy propagation of the plant 
both by seeds and cuttings, and also refers to the risk of 
its eradication:— 
“ Quoique cette dernierc espcco ait 'etc detruite dans 
les environs de Rio de Janeiro, ct cn general dans ceux 
des grandes villes, ello cst encore fort commune dans 
beaucoup d’endroits ; cependant comme on Tarrache sans 
prevoyance, qu’on n’attend point pour cola la maturite 
de ses fruits, et que, d’un autre cote, on detruit tous les 
jours de vastes portions de bois vierges ou clle naissait 
en abondance, il est incontestable qu’clle ne tardera pas 
a devenir rare, et il scrait important que Ion songiat 
serieusement a la cultiver. De3 essais tentes par plu- 
siers personnes prouvent qu’elle so reprocluit egalement 
bien par des semis, et par des boutures. E'ile n’exige 
presque aucun soin, quand on la cultive dans les bois a 
I ombre des grands arbres ; mads, quand on est oblige de 
la cultiver dans des lieux decouverts, il est necessaire de 
lui procurer un ombrage artificial.” 
An account of the method pursued in propagating tlie 
plant has already appeared'in the Proceedings of the 
Society (vol. x. p. 318). Besides greatly multiplying 
the plants by this method from the specimens which 
had been long in cultivation, means were taken for im¬ 
porting living specimens from South America. Dr. 
Christison has taken a warm interest in the matter ; and 
on our writing to Dr. Gunning, of Palmeiras, Rio Ja¬ 
neiro, a graduate of this University, he readily gave his 
aid, and sent to Edinburgh, on two occasions, boxes con¬ 
taining specimens, from which we were enabled to pro¬ 
cure a large number of living plants by the mode of 
propagation adopted by Mr. M'Nab. 
On examining these new plants, there appeared to be 
a marked difference between them and the old plants 
cultivated in the garden. The latter are evidently the 
form figured by Sir William Hooker, in the ‘ Botanical 
Magazine’ (Tab. 4063), wdiile the former resemble more 
the figure given by Martius in his ‘ Specimen Materia) 
Medicm Brasiliensis’ (Tab. 1). 
The old garden plant figured by Hooker was sent to 
him by Mr. Mackey, of Liege ; and this form seems to 
be still cultivated in Belgium, as the Messrs. Lawson 
have lately received specimens for their nursery from 
that country. It is distinguished from that sent by Dr. 
Gunning, by having leaves of a firmer texture, more 
elliptical or oval, the apex less pointed, and the edges 
wavy, with fewer hairs on their surface and at the edges. 
The stem is more shrubby. The plant flowers readily 
after a year’s cultivation from slips. The styleis short. 
In the plant recently imported from Rio Janeiro, the 
leaves are more acute, more delicate in texture, and more 
hairy on the edges, and not wavy. The stem is not 
shrubby. It corresponds, apparently, with the figures 
and descriptions of Richard, Martius, and Auguste >St. 
Hilaire. We require the flower, however, to determine 
more fully the character of the plant. Judging from 
the figures given by the above-mentioned botanists, the 
style in the Ipecacuan plant is so long that the two- 
lobed stigma reaches to the level of the anthers. Wot 
cannot say if this will constitute a character of impor t- . 
ance. There may be hermaphrodite and dimorphic' 
forms of the plant. Some may have short styles, and 
some long styles ; and the reason why the flowering- 
plants in the garden have never produced seed may be 
that long styles are required for complete fertilization.* 
To this point attention will be directed should the Rio 
Janeiro plant produce flowers in the garden. The roots 
* Read before the Botanica'. Society of Edinburgh, May 
11th, 1871. 
* This year (Nov., 1871) several of the 
plants are showing fruit for the first time. 
old Ipecacuan 
