-Am.  Jour.  Pliarm.  ] 
Sept.,  1881.  j 
Gleanings  in  Materia  Medica. 
437 
mealy,  after  soaking  grayish-  or  yellowish-brown  ;  the  cambium  line 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  tuber  more  or  less  five-  to  seven-rayed,  in 
the  lower  part  elliptic  or  circular.  In  some  tubers  the  cambium  line 
is  not  rayed  but  angular,  or  is  wanting  altogether,  and  in  the  broad 
inner  bark  are  a  number  of  small  starlike  vascular  bundles,  placed  in 
a  circle  ;  the  latter  agree  with  the  secondary  tubers  of  the  plant  yield- 
ing dai-bushi.  .  Two  very  poisonous  alkaloids  have  been  obtained 
from  these  tubers,  but  not  further  investigated.  Yield  of  extract  4*92 
per  cent. 
3.  Katsuyama-hushi. — These  are  Japanese  tubers,  the  largest  of 
which  resemble  the  small  dai-bushi.  They  are  covered  with  an  earthy 
saline  incrustation,  are  conical  or  napiform,  dingy  gray  or  gray-brown, 
with  scars  of  detached  rootlets,  deeply  wrinkled,  soft,  tough,  but  the 
bark  easily  removed ;  length  18  to  38  mm.;  weight  4'1  to  14*7  grams; 
almost  always  worm-eaten.  Upon  transverse  section  the  color  is  yel- 
lowish ;  the  cambium  ring  circular,  wavy  or  occasionally  radiating ; 
the  pith  large.  Yield  of  alcoholic  extract  11 '57  per  cent.;  nearly 
inert. 
4.  Shirakawa-uzu,  —  These  tubers  are  elongated,  somewhat  napi- 
form, often  flattened  and  bent,  truncately  cut  off,  with  scars  of  radi- 
cles, warty,  longitudinally  wrinkled,  dirty  gray,  covered  with  an 
earthy  saline  incrustation,  soft,  tough,  very  hygroscopic ;  taste  saline, 
afterwards  burning ;  upon  the  transverse  section  grayish- white,  the 
cambium  with  numerous  obtuse  rays;  the  pith  large,  deeper  gray 
In  some  tubers  the  pith  is  smaller,  the  cambium  few-rayed  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  circle  of  fibrovascular  groups  similar  to  those  of  dai- 
bushi.  Yield  of  extract  22*32  per  cent.  Two  alkaloids  are  present, 
one  crystallizing  from  ether. 
5.  Kusa-uzu. — These  are  1*5  to  3*5  cm.  long,  0*8  to  1*5  cm.  broad 
in  the  thickest  part,  weight  0*8  to  1'5  gram;  they  are  small,  napiform 
or  conical,  pointed  or  rarely  obtuse,  above  flattened,  somewhat  curved, 
gray-brown,  much  wrinkled  longitudinally  and  transversely,  rarely 
smooth,  often  with  stem  remnants,  scars  of  rootlets  and  worm-eaten ; 
transverse  section  white  or  yellowish-white,  mealy,  occasionally  horny 
;and  gray ;  bark  J  to  J  diameter;  cambium  line  dark,  mostly  some- 
what radiating,  or  rarely  roundish  with  distinct  medullary  rays  and 
in  the  bark  numerous  stone  cells.  Yield  of  alcoholic  extract  8' 14 
per  cent. 
This  aconite   is  extremely  poisonous,  the  properties  depending 
