Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1887. 
Editorial. 
541 
years;  one  about  five  montbs;  and  one  a  little  over  one  month.  In  ad- 
dition to  these  the  liver  and  spleen  of  a  child  recently  deceased  were  ex- 
amined. The  investigation  was  made  by  first  exsiccating  the  parts  and 
then  carefully  incinerating  them,  generally  with  the  repeated  addition  of  a 
small  quantity  of  nitric  acid  to  effect  the  complete  destruction  of  the 
organic  matter.  The  ash  thus  obtained  was  next  dissolved  in  dilute  nitric 
acid  at  a  moderate  heat,  filtered,  evaporated  to  dryness,  again  dissolved  in 
distilled  water  and  was  now  ready  for  the  different  tests  for  lead,  sulphu- 
retted hydrogen,  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  potassa,  potassium  hydrate,  potassium 
bi-chromate  and  metallic  zinc  being  used  for  the  purpose.  The  liver  and 
kidney,  in  some  cases,  also  the  brain,  spinal  cord  and  stomach,  were  ex- 
amined and  afforded  decided  evidence  of  the  presence  of  lead,  but  the  heart 
and  lower  jaw  of  one  of  the  bodies  gave  no  appreciable  results. 
Before  concluding  his  report  Professor  Reese  makes  the  following  obser- 
vations : 
"  The  point  of  most  interest  in  the  above  cases — physiologically  and  toxi- 
cologically  considered — is  probably  the  fact  of  the  detection  of  lead  after 
death  in  the  two  great  nervous  centres,  the  brain  and  spinal  cord.  It  has 
been  asserted  by  some  who  have  experimented  with  this  poisonous  metal 
on  the  lower  animals,  that  it  has  a  special  affinity  for  these  organs,  and  that 
it  was  found  after  death  in  them  in  greater  abundance  than  even  in  the  liver. 
The  results  of  our  experiments  upon  the  human  subject,  as  above  detailed, 
do  not  confirm  this  statement,  but,  on  the  contrary,  show  that  the  liver,  as 
a  general  rule,  contains  more  of  the  absorbed  poison  than  any  of  the  other 
viscera;  and  they  point  to  this  gland  as  the  great  eliminating  organ  for 
poisons  from  the  human  body." 
Tear  blanket  tree  and  stenocarpine. — During  the  past  month  or  two 
many  of  the  medical  journals  gave  accounts  of  experiments  made  with  a 
substance  claimed  to  be  an  alkaloid,  and  to  possess  properties  closely  analo- 
gous to  those  of  cocaine.     The  history  of  this  substance  is  given  as  follows : 
"During the  past  fall,  Mr.  M.  Goodman,  veterinary  surgeon,  in  traveling 
through  West  Feliciana  Parish,  La.,  had  occasion  to  apply  a  poultice  to 
the  fetlock  of  one  of  his  horses.  Having  none  of  the  customary  means  at 
hand  with  which  to  make  it,  he  raked  together  a  number  of  leaves  from  the 
ground,  and  having  saturated  them  with  hot  water,  applied  the  mass  as  a 
poultice  to  the  inflamed  part.  After  the  swelling  had  arrived  at  a  proper 
condition,  he  made  a  free  incision  into  the  part  without  the  horse  giving  any 
evidence  of  pain.  It  occurred  to  him  that  the  leaves  might  have  anaesthetic 
properties ;  and  a  few  weeks  after,  having  occasion  to  open  an  inflamed 
bursa  on  the  elbow  of  another  horse,  he  made  a  similar  poultice,  applied  it 
as  before,  and  again  made  the  incision  without  any  pain  to  the  animal. 
"Mr.  Goodman  states  that  the  tree  is  known  in  the  locality  mentioned  as 
the  Tear  Blanket  Tree.  It  grows  to  the  height  of  35  to  40  feet,  with  a  diame- 
ter to' the  bole  of  about  18  inches,  and  a  spread  of  foliage  of  about  30  to  35 
feet.  The  leaves  resemble  those  of  an  acacia.  The  bark  is  smooth.  From 
the  ground  up,  the  tree  is  furnished  with  clumps  of  forked  spines  or  thorns, 
the  parent  spine  springing  at  right  angles  from  the  bough  or  trunk.  Though 
Mr.  Goodman  is  a  native  of  the  region,  he  has  never  seen  the  tree  blossom. 
As  fruit  it  bears  pods  8  or  10  inches  in  length,  flat  and  slightly  curved,  con- 
taining seeds  and  a  viscid  juice.  The  spines  are  very  tough  and  highly  pol- 
ished, and  the  wood  is  extremely  tough.  It  grows  in  clumps  and  singly, 
and  is  abundant  in  Louisiana. 
