Am.  Jour.  Pharm.\ 
August,  1897.  J 
American  Medicinal  Flora. 
423 
duction,  which,  in  part  at  least,  belongs  to  1896,  as  some  of  this 
quantity  may  be  sulphur  stored  in  the  mines  in  1895,  aQd  not  shipped 
promptly.  Further,  the  quantity  carried  by  rail  from  the  stations 
in  the  interior  to  the  ports  was  larger  in  the  fiscal  year  1895-96  than 
in  1894-95. 
(6)  Everything  points  to  an  increased  production  for  1897,  and  if 
the  present  prices  check  the  consumption,  stocks  must  necessarily 
increase  during  the  year. 
(7)  Should  Sicilian  brimstone  be  partly  replaced  in  the  United 
States  by  pyrites  for  the  manufacture  of  sulphuric  acid,  this  will  di- 
minish our  imports,  which  have  been  from  100,000  to  1 25,000  tons 
per  annum,  or  25  to  30  per  cent,  of  the  total  production  of  Sicily. 
(8)  For  the  above  reasons,  it  seems  more  than  doubtful  that  the 
Anglo-Sicilian  sulphur  trust  can  succeed  in  maintaining  the  prices 
at  the  present  artificial  point  for  any  length  of  time.  Its  capital  is 
£750,000  ($3,649,885)  and  it  has  purchased  its  brimstone  at  about 
655.  ($  1 5 .80)  per  ton  free  on  board  Sicily,  plus  all  the  other  expenses. 
Chas.  M.  Caughy, 
Consul. 
Messina,  March  29,  1897. 
STUDY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  MEDICINAL  FLORA. 
The  Sub-Commission  of  the  Pan-American  Medical  Congress, 
appointed  to  study  the  medicinal  plants  of  the  United  States,  has 
entered  into  an  association  with  the  Smithsonian  Institution  for  that 
purpose.  The  attention  of  our  readers  is  called  to  the  respective 
circulars  issued  by  these  organizations,  which  we  print  below  : 
Smithsonian  Institution,  Washington,  D.  C, 
May  28,  1897. 
Dear  Sir  :  —The  Smithsonian  Institution  has  undertaken  to  bring  together 
all  possible  material  bearing  on  the  medicinal  uses  of  plants  in  the  United 
States.  Arrangements  have  been  made  with  a  body  representing  the  Pan- 
American  Medical  Congress,  the  Sub-Commission  on  Medicinal  Flora  of  the 
United  States,  to  elaborate  a  report  on  this  subject,  and  the  material  when 
received  will  be  turned  over  to  them  for  investigation. 
The  accompanying  detailed  instructions  relative  to  specimens  and  notes  have 
been  prepared  by  the  Sub-Commission. 
All  packages  and  correspondence  should  be  addressed  to  the  Smithsonian 
Institution,  Washington,  D.  C,  and  marked  on  the  outside  Medicinal  Plants, 
for  the  U.  S.  National  Museum. 
