AmiSust,Pl8971!m•}        Gleanings  in  Materia  Medica.  429 
referred  to  Petiveria  hexaglochin,  Fischer,  nat.  ord.  Phytolaccaceae. 
It  is  described,  ( Chem.  Zeit9  1887,  p.  348,)  as  consisting  of  irregularly 
bent  pieces,  3  to  6  mm.  (J~J  inch)  thick,  externally  gray-brown,  upon 
transverse  section  showing  a  brownish  bark  with  white  dots,  and  a 
lighter  colored  radiating  ligneous  cord.  The  cork-layer  consists  of  3 
or  4  rows  of  cells  ;  the  comparatively  thick  primary  bark  contains  a 
number  of  enlarged  cells,  enclosing  one  or  two  large,  or  many  small, 
crystals  of  calcium  oxalate ;  the  woody  cord  contains  tracheids  with 
narrow  dotted  ducts,  two-rowed  medullary  rays,  and  in  the  centre  a 
thin  pith.    The  root  is  recommended  as  an  emmenagogue. 
The  genus  Petiveria  is  confined  to  tropical  America,  and  the  shrub- 
by or  suffruticose  plants  are  mostly  acrid  and  have,  particularly  in  the 
root,  an  alliaceous  odor.  Richard  referred  pipi  root  to  Pet.  alliacea, 
Lin.,  and  Martius  (Buck.  Rep.,  1824,  xvii.,  p.  175),  to  Pet.  tetrandra, 
Gomez.  The  root  has  been  used  internally  and  in  baths  and  fomentations, 
as  a  diaphoretic,  stimulant,  expectorant,  anthelmintic,  and  in  fevers, 
toothache  and  gonorrhoea. 
VARIETIES. 
Boracin. — Dr.  Thornton  Parker  states  that  this  compound  consists  of  boric 
acid,  glycerin,  methyl  salicylate,  menthol,  thymol  and  eucalyptol.  Used  in 
solution,  it  is  a  satisfactory  dressing  for  wounds;  as  a  thick  paste  it  is  well 
adapted  for  the  treatment  of  chronic  ulcers  of  the  legs.  In  the  form  of 
suppositories  made  with  glycerin,  and  containing  55  per  cent,  of  boracin,  it 
forms  a  convenient  method  of  treating  threadworms  or  chronic  leucorrhoea, 
while  an  ointment  of  it  has  given  excellent  results  in  the  treatment  of 
chronic  eczema  of  the  scalp. — Quart.  Review,  April,  1887. 
Action  of  bitters. — From  experiments  performed  recently  in  St.  Peters- 
burg, Prof.  Botkin  asserts : 
1.  That  bitters  diminish  the  digestive  power,  and  retard  digestion ;  they 
diminish  the  quantity  of  peptones.  . 
2.  That  bitters  diminish  the  secretion  of  the  gastric  juice.  If  they  pro- 
duce a  feeling  of  hunger,  it  is  only  by  irritating  the  gastric  mucous  mem- 
brane. 
3.  Bitters  have  no  influence  upon  the  secretion  of  the  pancreatic  juice  or 
the  bile. 
4.  Bitters  not  only  do  not  diminish,  but  actually  promote  fermentation  in 
the  contents  of  the  stomach. 
Conclusion.  The  bitters  are  not  of  any  use  in  the  treatment  of  disorders 
of  digestion. — V  Union  Medicate  du  Canada. 
