BOTANICAL  AND  PHARMACOLOGICAL  INQUIRIES.  57 
near  Uaxaca,  of  which  specimens  are  requested  in  order  that  it  may  be 
further  examined  and  described. 
There  are  other  resins,  of  whose  origin  little  is  known,  which  have  been 
imported  from  Mexico,  Brazil,  and  other  parts  of  tropical  America  as 
Elemi. 
CENTRAL  AND   SOUTH  AMERICA. 
Sarsaparilla. — The  species  of  Smilax,  the  roots  of  which  constitute  the 
various  sorts  of  sarsaparilla  found  in  commerce,  are  very  imperfectly 
known.  Good  botanical  specimens,  comprising  flowers,  fruits,  and  leaves, 
and  accompanied  by  the  stem  and  roots,  should  be  carefully  preserved  and 
transmitted  to  England  for  determination. 
The  so-called  Jamaica  Sarsaparilla  grows  near  the  Chiriqui  Lagoon,  in 
the  state  of  Costa  Rica,  and  a  species  very  similar,  if  not  identical  with  it, 
at  Bajorque,  on  the  Rio  Magdalena,  New  Granada.  Other  sorts  of  sarsa- 
parilla are  produced  in  Mexico,  Guatemala,  Honduras,  Brazil,  &c. 
That  of  Guatemala  grows  in  the  department  of  Sacatepeques  in  that  state. 
Bhatany  Root. — A  variety  of  this  drug  has  been  exported  of  late  years 
from  Savanilla,  in  New  Granada.  Obtain  specimens  of  the  plant  from 
which  it  is  derived, 
Malambo  Bark,  a  highly  aromatic  bark,  produced  in  New  Granada. 
Of  its  origin  nothing  certain  is  known. 
Balsam  of  Copaiva  is  imported  from  several  parts  of  Brazil  :  it  varies 
somewhat  in  properties,  and  is  the  produce  of  several  species  of  the  genus 
Copaifera.  It  is  desirable  to  obtain  the  balsam  of  each  species,  with  a 
specimen  in  flower  and  leaf,  and,  if  possible,  in  fruit,  of  the  tree  affording 
it,  and  the  name  of  the  district  where  the  tree  grows,  and  its  native  appel- 
lation there. 
Lignaloe. — The  name  of  a  remarkably  aromatic  wood  sent  to  the  Paris 
Exhibition  of  1855,  from  the  department  of  Vera  Cruz,  in  Mexico.  By 
what  tree  is  it  afforded  ? 
Lignum  nephriticum. — This  rare  wood  was  sent  to  the  Paris  Exhibition 
of  1855  from  Mexico.    To  what  tree  is  it  to  be  referred  ? 
Cinchona  Bark,  or  Peruvian  Bark. — This  valuable  drug,  the  only  source 
of  quinine,  is  derived  from  various  species  of  Cinchona  growing  along  the 
whole  chain  of  the  Andes,  from  New  Granada  to  Boliva.  Of  these  trees 
it  may  be  said  that  good,  pressed,  botanical  specimens  of  any  species  are 
interesting  and  desirable.  Such  specimens  ought  to  include  the  flowers 
and  fruits,  and  in  every  case  to  be  accompanied  by  several  pieces  of  the 
bark,  young  and  old,  stripped  from  the  very  tree  from  which  the  botanical 
specimens  were  gathered  :  all  being  most  carefully  and  clearly  labelled 
upon  the  spot  with  every  particular  worthy  of  note. 
A  point  of  considerable  interest,  still  to  be  determined,  is  the  proportion 
of  alkaloids  contained  in  the  young  and  old  bark.    For  this  determination 
