188 
NOTES  ON  MATERIA  MEDICA. 
in  all  but  its  color,  is  the  dried  flower  of  a  very  small  plant,  ex- 
tremely common  in  some  parts  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
taking  there  the  place  of  our  common  Toadflax, — Linaria  vul- 
garis,—  and  belonging  to  the  same  Natural  Order,— Scropu- 
lariacece.  It  yields  a  color  like  that  of  saffron,  and,  what  is 
very  remarkable,  it  yields  it  as  readily  when  mixed  even  with 
cold  water ;  moreover,  its  odor  is  that  of  good  saffron,  and 
equally  strong ;  two  importations  have  taken  place,  the  first 
about  five  years  since,  which  was  only  a  small  sample,  the  latter 
about  70  lbs.  weight ;  the  former  shared  the  fate  of  thousands 
of  valuable  products,  it  was  buried  in  a  drug-broker's  drawer ; 
the  latter  is  in  the  hands  of  an  intelligent  merchant,  Mr.  David 
Bain,  50  Stanhope  Street,  Hampstead  Road,  London,  who  is 
fully  alive  to  the  value  of  bringing  forward  the  economic  pro- 
ducts of  the  Cape.  Dr.  Pape  since  called  attention  to  the  uses 
of  this  plant,  and  the  following  quotation  is  from  his  "Florae 
Capensis  Medicse  Prodromus  :" 
¥,  This  bush  deserves  notice  as  a  drug,  and  in  all  probability 
will,  ere  long,  become  an  article  of  colonial  export.  It  grows 
abundantly  in  some  parts  of  the  eastern  districts,  whence  it  has 
found  its  way  into  the  dispensary.  The  flowers,  which  are 
called  G-eele  bloemetjee,  closely  resemble  saffron  in  taste  and 
smell ;  they  possess  similar  medical  properties,  and  as  an  anti- 
spasmodic anodyne  and  stimulant,  ought  to  rank  with  the  Crocus 
sativus.  Here,  they  have  as  yet  been  only  used  with  success  in 
the  convulsions  of  children,  but  they  deserve  a  more  general 
trial.  On  account  of  the  fine  orange  color  which  they  impart, 
they  are  in  daily  request  among  the  Mahomedans,  who  use  them 
for  the  purpose  of  dyeing  their  handkerchiefs.  This  drug  has 
been  observed  to  be  sometimes  adulterated  by  the  admixture  of 
other  plants  of  the  same  genus,  which  are  less  efficacious." 
3.  Note  on  a  New  Product,  called  Cubebs,  from  South  Africa. 
This  material  has  been  sent  from  Cape  Coast  Castle,  under 
the  name  of  African  Cubebs.  It  has,  however,  no  -relationship 
to  Cubeba  officinalis,  or  any  other  pepper,  but  belongs  to  the 
Natural  Order  Xanihoxylacem,  which  is  celebrated  for  the  agree- 
able pungency  of  the  fruits  of  many  of  its  species,  especially  in 
