MATERIA MEDICA, AND THERAPEUTICS., 
355 
though not used at the present day to the extent to which it was formerly, is 
nevertheless much valued in many parts of the country for manuring land. At 
one time it was much in request as fodder for cattle, but it is rarely, if ever, 
now employed for that purpose; as a litter for horses, however, the fronds are 
still much used in neighbourhoods where they abound, and in some districts, in 
Monmouthshire for instance, the cottagers collect them during the summer 
months and burn them, preserving the ash, which is moistened sufficiently to 
enable it to be made into balls about the size of a cricket ball. These are after¬ 
wards dried, and are then ready for use for washing all kinds of clothing. The 
use of this ash as a substitute for soap is attributable to the large amount of 
potash which it contains; indeed, it was used at one time for glass-making. 
In some parts of Scotland, the fronds of the Brake may still be seen as a thatch 
upon the roofs of cottages. Besides these uses, the creeping underground 
rhizome is said to contain much starch and mucilage, and to be highly nutri¬ 
tious. The author of the ‘ Useful Plants of Great Britain,’ after bearing testi¬ 
mony to the nutritive properties of these rhizomes, gives the following formula 
for preparing them for use:—They should be first roasted over a fire until the 
outer skin is charred, and then the fibres should be separated by beating ; the 
starchy substance that remains tastes much like oat-cake, but with a slight 
astringency that is not unpleasant. Few substances will keep off hunger duriug 
violent exertion better than the underground stem or rhizome of the Brake thus 
prepared,—a fact worth remembering by the rambler in uninhabited districts. 
Application of Ttirnips in Dyeing. 
We extract the following from the ‘Intellectual Observer:’—The process of 
dyeing with indigo, though extremely simple in theory, is attended with diffi¬ 
culties in practice that demand the skill of an adroit and experienced workman. 
M. Leuchs, of Nuremberg, has so simplified the operation that it may now be 
performed with ease and certainty. He avails himself of the property possessed 
by pectine of changing insoluble blue into soluble white indigo. Fortunately, 
pectine is very plentiful, being found in large quantities in Pumpkins, Melons, 
etc., but most abundantly of all in Turnips. Nor is it required, for the purpose of 
dyeing, to separate it from the Turnips; it is only necessary to cut them up in 
small pieces, after which they are ready for use. Their efficiency, in this state, 
may be shown by a very simple and striking experiment. A small quantity of 
indigo, and a few drops of a solution of a caustic alkali, and then a little bit of 
Turnip, are to be placed in a tube closed at one end; after which heat is to be 
applied. The indigo becomes, in a very short time, colourless and soluble. On 
the large scale, 100 parts by weight of caustic ley, at a temperature of 75° Cent. 
(167° Fahr.), one part indigo, and five parts of Turnips chopped very small, are 
used; the Turnips being put within an iron cage, which is suspended in the 
liquor. When all the ingredients have been added, the temperature is raised to 
the boiling-point; and as soon as the indigo has become colourless, the solution 
is decanted off, and requires no further preparation for use in dyeing. About 
five per cent, of the Turnips are left as a residue, which answers well in paper¬ 
making. At places where, or during seasons when Turnips cannot be had, an 
essence extracted from them with water, under a pressure of two or three 
atmospheres, answers equally well; about four parts by weight of it being used 
for one part indigo. The employment either of the Turnips or their extract 
prevents that waste of indigo which is almost inseparable from the ordinary 
process. 
Physiological Effects of Warceine. 
The ‘ American Journal of Pharmacy ’ gives the following resumS from the 
‘ Gazette des Hopitaux,’ of the observations of M. Line, after a series of experi¬ 
ments with narceine in the wards of M. Delpech:— 
