472 
EXTRACTS FROM FOREIGN JOURNAL8. 
safe substitute for chloroform in the production of local anaes¬ 
thesia. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRUG. 
The plant from which the alkaloid cocaine is obtained is 
known to botanists as erythroxylon coca, a member of the North 
Carolina linaceae. It is a bushy shrub with numerous smooth 
leaves, which are lanceolate or somewhat oval in shape, and taper¬ 
ing towards the petiole. The flowers are small and of a yellow¬ 
ish color. The fruit is a little drupe, over one-fourth of an inch 
in length, ovoid in shape, quite plump and green, but furrowed 
longitudinally when dry. The coca plant is cultivated exten¬ 
sively in Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and in some other parts of 
South America. It is said to thrive best in a moist, mild climate, 
at an elevation of 2,000 to 5,000 feet above the sea level. In this 
Presidency it is said to grow very well at sea-level on the coast, 
but its cultivation might be much easier and more profitable at 
higher altitudes. In some parts of South India a species some¬ 
what resembling the American one, viz: erythroxylon monogy- 
num , is said to grow well, where it is known as devadaree, and 
adavi goranta. The therapeutic value of this shrub has not yet 
been determined.— From the Veterinary Journal. 
Note.— Since writing the above the mare has been discharged from the hos¬ 
pital, with complete restoration of vision, and no opacity of the cornea, twenty- 
four days after the operation. 
COMPOUND COMMINUTED FRACTURE OF THE PHALANGEAL 
BONES IN A DOG TREATED SUCCESSFULLY 
BY AMPUTATION. 
By F. C. Mahon, M.R.C.Y.S., Southsea. 
I hope the accompanying history of a case of fracture impli¬ 
cating the digital bones, comprising a portion of the right phalanx 
of the dog, may be considered worthy of insertion in the Veter, 
inary Journal. It was the first case of the kind I have actually 
had to personally treat, and it was very interesting to me. 
The animal was a well-bred Manchester terrier, who on the 
afternoon of the 8th of August received injuries from a bite by 
a mastiff, resulting in a compound comminuted fracture of the 
