14 39 
eaten, has the peculiar property of making • the most 
sour and acidulous substances seem intensely sweet, 
so that citric or tartaric acids, lime juice, vinegar, 
and all sour immature fruits eaten thereafter taste 
as If they were composed wholly of saccharine matter. 
The duration of this effect depends upon the amount 
of berries eaten, and the degree of maturity they have 
attained; when a sufficient quantity has been taken, 
their influence is commonly perceptible throughout 
the day. This peculiar principle, however, is soon 
dissipated if the fruits are allowed to remain in a 
ripe condition for any length of time; preserved 
fruits brought to England not only lost this property, 
but became extremely insipid. The natives of the' Gold 
Coast often use them to render their stale and acidu- 
lated kankies (maize bread) more palatable, and to 
give sweetness to sour palm wine and pitto (beer made 
from maize.) (Adapted from Pharmaceutical Journal, 
vol. 11, p. 446.) 
Vitex grandifolia (Verbenaceae) , 47220. Oricta. Prom 
Southern Provinces, Nigeria. Seeds presented by Mr. 
A. H. Klrby, Asst. Director of Agriculture., Ibadan. 
Near the River Nun, Vitex grandifolia is a small tree 
with the habit of an Aralia, growing to a height 
of 25 feet. In Akwapim it is a shrub, 10 feet in 
height, with cream-colored flowers, found at an eleva- 
tion of 1,000 feet. The fruit is edible, about the 
size of a small plum; it is made into a kind of honey. 
The wood is used for making large drums . (Adapted from 
Kew Bulletin, Useful Plants of Nigeria, Part 3, p. 526.) 
