304 
Gleanings  in  llateria  Medica 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharuj. 
"(       June,  1881, 
GLEANINGS  IN  MATERIA  MEDICA. 
By  the  Editor. 
Oar  are  of  French  Guiana. — Mr.  Crevaux  states  that  the  following- 
plants  enter  into  the  preparation  of  the  curare  of  the  Upper  Parou. 
The  principal  one  is  called  ourari,  and  is  a  new  species  of  Strychnos^ 
named  by  Planchon  St.  Crevauxii.  The  Indians  soak  the  roots^ 
remove  the  bark  with  a  cutting  instrument,  and  express  the  juice  with 
their  hands.  The  juice,  added  to  some  other  unimportant  substances 
(among  others  a  capsicum),  is  very  slightly  heated  and  dried  in  the 
sun.  The  juice  of  the  roots  is  very  bitter  and  stains  the  hands  brown 
like  tincture  of  iodine ;  it  may  be  handled  witli  impunity,  provided 
til  ere  are  no  excoriations. 
The  accessory  plants  used  in  preparing  this  curare  all  belong  to  the 
piperace^e,  namely,  1,  alimiere,  an  undetermined  piper;  2,  branches 
agreeing  tolerably  well  with  specimens  of  Piper  Isetum,  C.  D.  C,  s. 
Ottonia  Iteta,  Kunth ;  3,  potpeii,  which  approximates  to  Piper  Host- 
mannianum,  C.  D.  C,  s.  Artanthe  ramiflora,  Miq. ;  and  4,  aracoupaniy 
an  undetermined  piperacea. 
The  juice  of  Hura  crepitans,  Lin.,  which  Mr.  Crevaux  collected 
on  the  banks  of  the  Amazon,  near  to  the  mouth  of  the  Parou,  is  used 
to  poison  arrows;  the  species  bears  the  name  of  ouassacou. — P/iar. 
Jour,  and  Trans.,  Feb.  19,  1881,  p.  693. 
Curare  of  British  Guiana. — The  principal  species  used  for  the  pre- 
paration of  this  curare  is  Strychnos  toxifera,  Benth.,  the  waii  of  the 
natives ;  also  arimaru,  which  is  Str.  cogens,  Schomb.,  and  yakhi,  the 
Str.  Schomburgkii,  Klotzsch,  s.  Str.  pedunculata,  Benth.,  s.  Pouhamon 
pedunculatum,  A.  D.  C.  The  juices  of  five  other  plants,  known  as 
volkarimo,  tarireng,  tararemer,  mamica  and  maramu,  are  used  to  thicken 
the  curare. — Ibid.,  March  12,  p.  754. 
New  African  Arrow  Poison. — Rob.  W.  Eelkin  has  sent  to  Dr. 
Ringer  an  arrow  poison,  which  is  used  on  the  east  coast  of  Africa, 
between  Zanzibar  and  the  Sourali  Land,  and  is  made  by  the  Wanika 
and  Wakamba  tribes,  who  live  to  the  west  of  an  island  called  Mom- 
basa. Extracts  are  made  from  eleven  different  roots ;  the  poison  is  a 
black  extract,  of  firm  consistence,  and  almost  odorless  A.  W.  Ger- 
rard  believes  that  the  chief  ingredient  of  the  new  poison  is  a  Strophan- 
thus,  either  S.  hispidus  or  S.  Kombe,  nat.  ord.  Apocynacese,  thus 
eloselv  allied  to  the  genus  Strychnos.    Dr.  F.  R.  Fraser,  in  1872, 
