Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Oct.,  1881.  j 
Senega  of  Commerce. 
483 
from  the  size  of  the  little  finger  to  that  of  the  thumb  of  a  man.  It 
is  from  six  to  ten  inches  in  length  and  generally  destitute  of  the  keel- 
like ridge  whicli  is  so  marked  a  characteristic  of  Southern  senega. 
The  root  of  this  Northwestern  variety  is  not  so  contorted  and 
branched  as  that  of  the  Southern  senega^  being  large  and  fleshy.  It 
has  the  relationship  appearance,  however,  of  the  Polygalas,  the  odor 
and  taste  of  senega  and  occasionally  (the  exception)  more  or  less  of  the 
keel-like  ridge.  The  first  notice  that  we  can  find  in  print  regarding 
this  senega  is  that  of  Mr.  Wm.  Saunders,  in  the  Proceedings  of  the 
American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  1876.  Since  that  day  the  drug 
lias  become  familiar  in  the  market,  commanding  about  five  cents  less 
per  pound  than  the  Southern  senega.  It  has  been  examined  micro- 
scopically by.  Mr.  Thomas  Greenish  ("Am.  Journ.  Pharm,,"  1878) 
and  by  Mr.  George  Goebel,  Jr.  ("Am.  Journ.  Pharm.,"  1881).^  Prof. 
J.  M.  Maisch  has  been  interested  in  this  large  senega  for  some  years, 
and  once  traced  a  lot  of  it  to  Missouri.  We  have  known  of  one  lot 
that  came  from  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  but  we  question  very  much  if  it  grew 
in  that  State.  Doubtless  it  came,  via  St.  Louis,  from  its  home  in  the 
North  west. 
In  connection  with  the  history  of  this  drug,  we  may  say  that  while 
its  origin  has  been  a  matter  of  doubt,  and  all  endeavors  to  locate  it 
botanically  have  heretofore  failed,  we  are  convinced  that  dealers  have 
had  no  reason  to  preserve  silence  or  secrecy  other  than  for  the  protec- 
tion of  their  interests  as  tradesmen.  It  seems  to  us,  however,  that  the 
uncertainty  regarding  the  drug  has  so  acted  as  to  unsettle  the  price, 
for  it  has  ever  been  a  questionable  root  and  many  persons  refused  to 
accept  it. 
Last  winter,  Mr.  W.  W.  Moser,  of  Cincinnati,  offered  to  procure 
for  us  the  entire  plant  when  in  season.  Mr.  Moser  is  an  extensive 
dealer  in  indigenous  medicinal  plants  and  has  been  in  the  business  for 
twenty-five  years  or  moi'e  and  handles  considerable  quantities  of  North- 
ern and  of  Southern  senega.  According  to  promise,  Mr.  Moser  pro- 
cured from  parties  that  gather  the  Northern  senega  (either  in  Wiscon- 
^  We  take  it  for  granted  that  the  senega  these  gentlemen  examined  was 
the  "  Northern,"  as  it  is  tlie  only  senega  tliat  we  are  acquainted  with  that 
answers  tlie  descrij^tion  tliey  give  and  wliich  is  obtainable  on  the  market. 
Mr.  Goebel,  it  is  true,  speaks  of  it  as  "  Southern  senega,"  but  we  think 
this  simply  a  confusion  of  terms  and  that  the  drug  was  likely  the  regular 
Northern  senega.  L. 
