86 
Varieties, 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm^ 
\       Feb.,  1882. 
and  white,  very  fragrant,  in  clusters  of  two  or  three  in  the  axils  of  the 
leaves.  This  is  the  tea-plant,  of  the  genus  Thea^  very  nearly  allied  to  the 
genus  Camellia,  of  which  the  Japonica  and  other  species  from  China  and 
Japan  are  favorite  cultivations  of  the  greenhouse  in  Europe  and  this 
country.  Nowhere  in  the  world  but  on  the  borders  of  the  Himalayas  and 
in  the  wild  regions  of  Assam  is  the  tea-plant  found  growing  uncultivated, 
but  it  was  not  discovered  in  this  its  natural  habitation  until  the  present 
century.  As  a  cultivated  plant,  the  Chinese  have  certainly  had  it  since  the 
fourth  century,  and  they  claim  it  to  be  indigenous  to  their  own  soil— just 
as  confidently  as  they  claim  the  parentage  of  numerous  valuable  articles. 
China  has  given  tea  to  the  world,  and  has  furnished  a  favorable  home  to 
the  plant,  which  is  nevertheless  quite  as  well  suited  in  its  native  land, 
farther  east.  When  it  became  known  in  England  that  the  tea-plant  grew 
native  in  the  highlands  of  the  Himalayas,  English  companies  engaged 
extensively  in  the  cultivation  of  tea  in  that  region,  and  finally,  after  the 
correction  of  notable  failures  in  methods  of  culture  and  of  cure,  it  appears 
that  the  finest  teas  of  Asia  are  those  of  these  mountain  plains  and  the 
choicest  plants  are  of  variety  Assamica,  lately  propagated  from  the  wild 
shrub  of  the  mountains. — From  "  The  Chemistry  of  Coffee  and  Tea,''''  by 
Professor  Albert  P.  Prescott,  in  Popular  Science  Monthly  for  January. 
The  Administration  of  Iron.— The  tendency  on  the  part  both  of 
prcscribers  and  large  drug  manufacturers  is  to  combine  iron  with  other 
tonics,  in  the  form  of  elixirs,  syrups  and  wines  of  iron  and  quinine,  iron 
and  strychnine,  strychnine  and  pepsin,  and  so  on  ad  infinitum.  The  com- 
binations with  pepsin  are  a  shameful  waste  of  this  valuable  remedy,  and 
well  calculated  to  bring  it  into  disrepute.  None  of  the  others  above  men- 
tioned should  be  used  for  or  in  any  gastric  derangement,  except  with  due 
regard  to  time  of  administration.  The  most  suitable  time  to  give  iron  is 
one  hour  before  meals,  or  four  hours  afterward.—^.  W.  Perry,  M.D.,  in 
Western  Lancet. 
Camphorated  Chloral  Hydrate.— M.  Simons  having  observed  a 
case  of  poisoning  by  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  camphor  and  hydrate  chloral, 
conceived  the  idea  of  employing  the  same  preparation  in  therapeutic  doses. 
Twenty  drops  of  this  mixture  in  a  draught  cut  short  an  attack  of  acute 
mania.  M.  Simons  believes  that  it  could  be  employed  with  good  results 
in  hydrophobia,  tetanus  and  delirium  tremens. — Med.  Press  and  Circ. ; 
New  York  Medical  Abstract. 
Chloro-carbolated  Cotton  for  Toothache.— J.  B.  Garrison  advises 
the  following  for  cases  of  toothache,  due  to  exposure  of  a  nerve,  and  has  found 
it  serviceable  in  many  cases  of  dental  neuralgia :  Chloral  hydrate  and  car- 
bolic acid  are  combined  in  equal  proportions,  making  a  liquid,  in  which 
is  placed  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  cotton  of  the  populus  canadensis,  or 
cotton-wood  tree,  and  allowed  to  remain  a  day  or  two  It  is  then  pressed 
out  so  as  to  remove  the  superfluous  fluid,  and  it  is  ready  for  use.  The 
cavity  of  the  aching  tooth  is  thoroughly  dried,  and  then  filled  with  this 
chloro-carbolated  cotton  and  covered  with  wax  or  some  other  material 
