STUDY. 
535 
they  are  intended  alone  for  those  who  have  very  scanty  time 
and  most  limited  opportunities.  Weary,  indeed,  beyond  descrip- 
tion, is  the  manual  occupation  of  ignorance.  Can  there  be  a 
harder  fate  than  with  an  empty  mind  to  associate  with  a  row  of 
monotonous  bottles,  a  gas-jet,  and  unmeaning  implements  of 
coction  ?  If  you  but  knew  the  heaven  you  could  create  within 
you  by  this  practice  of  habitual  study  !  Knowledge  turns  the 
meanest  circumstances  into  sources  of  enjoyment.  Under  such 
influence  the  solitary  chamber  brightens  up,  the  charm  of  the 
Casino  fades,  and  an  inward  satisfaction  finds  its  expression  in 
acts  of  good-will  and  courtesy  in  daily  life  Pharm.  Journ. 
June  1854. 
31,  Southampton  Street,  Covent  Garden,  London. 
THE  LEAVES  OF  THE  MAGNOLIA  TRIPETALA  AS  A  DRESSING 
FOR  BLISTERS. 
By  John  Stainback  "Wilson,  M.  D.,  of  Airmount,  Alabama. 
As  this  Journal  is  eminently  practical,  it  is  hoped  that  a  brief 
notice  of  the  remarkable  species  of  Magnolia  which  heads  this 
article,  will  not  be  unacceptable. 
The  M.  tripetala  is  known  by  the  common  names  of  "  umbrella 
tree  "  and  "  wild  cucumber,"  the  latter  being,  we  think,  the 
most  common  in  Alabama,  where  it  grows  abundantly  ;  although 
it  seems  that  this  name  is  most  generally  applied  to  the  M. 
acuminata.  * 
The  species  of  Magnolia  under  consideration,  is  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  productions  of  the  United  States,  and  will  not 
fail  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  most  unobservant,  by  the 
wonderful  size  of  its  leaves  and  the  beauty  of  its  flowers  :  "the 
former  are  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  long,  by  seven  or  eight  in 
breadth,"  and  even  larger  than  this  :  while  the  latter  are  of  cor- 
responding magnitude,  being  "seven  or  eight  inches  in  diameter." 
We  are  informed  that  "  this  species  of  the  Magnolia  extends 
from  the  northern  parts  of  New  York  to  the  southern  limits  of 
the  United  States,"  but  we  have  never  seen  it  in  any  part  of  the 
State  of  Georgia.  Still,  as  it  is  no  doubt  a  common  production 
of  the  rich  lime  lands  of  the  South  Western  and  Western  States, 
its  "  medical  properties  and  uses  "  should  be  known  to  the  phy- 
sicians of  that  region  ;  and  it  should  not  suffer  unmerited  neglect 
