Xanthium  Spinosum. 
f  Am .  Jour.  Pharm. 
\       April,  1877. 
coopers  are  at  the  same  time  engaged  in  making  barrels  for  packing  the 
raisins,  and  the  merchants  who  have  purchased  the  product  in  advance 
so  far  as  possible,  look  anxiously  for  the  arrival  of  the  English  steam- 
ers, which  to  the  number  of  thirty  or  forty  or  even  fifty  usually  con- 
gregate at  the  different  ports.  British  gold  coins  are  then  in  circula- 
tion, and  the  joy  is  general,  from  the  carrier  of  burdens  to  the  whole- 
sale commissioner  and  merchant,  in  the  expectation  of  the  high  wages 
and  profit  derived  from  this  monopoly  of  a  portion  of  Greece  and  the 
Ionian  Islands. 
After  ten  or  twelve  sunny  days  the  fruit  is  dry  enough  to  be  separa- 
ted from  the  stalks  and  farther  purified  by  winnowing,  when  it  is  carried 
to  the  warehouses  for  packing  and  storage  until  it  is  shipped  ;  the 
weighing  and  packing  being  done  under  the  supervision  of  government 
officials.  Each  shipmaster  is  anxious  to  secure  the  first  cargo,  and  the 
departure  of  the  vessel  carrying  the  so-called  prhnaroles,  is  the  occasion 
of  festivities,  adorning  of  the  ship  with  wreaths  and  the  firing  of 
cannon.  But  throughout  the  general  joy,  the  anxiety  of  many  is 
plainly  visible,  lest  a  heavy  rain  might  be  the  cause  of  disappointing 
the  hopes  and  expectations  of  thousands  of  families. 
Grecian  Grapes. — More  than  fifty  varieties  of  grapevines  are  culti- 
vated in  Greece,  yielding  as  many  different  wines.  A  number  of  years 
ago  attempts  were  made  to  transplant  the  valuable  grapevines  of 
Hungary  and  Germany  to  Greece  ;  but  though  they  flourished  in  the 
sunny  oriental  clime,  the  acidulous  grape  from  the  Rhine  became  rich 
in  sugar,  and  produced  a  wine  resembling  those  obtained  from  indigenous 
grapes,  and  the  latter  acquired  a  harsh  and  acid  taste  when  cultivated 
in  Southern  Germany  or  on  the  Rhine.  The  proverb,  "  Suum  cuique," 
is  probably  also  applicable  in  this  case. 
NOTE  ON  XANTHIUM  SPINOSUM. 
By  the  Editor. 
During  the  past  year  the  above  plant  has  attracted  some  attention  in 
Europe  in  consequence  of  its  asserted  prophylactic  action  against  hydro- 
phobia, and  experiments  were  made  with  it  in  France  with  the  view  of 
testing  its  properties  and  virtues  in  that  dreadful  disease.  That  they 
have  had  a  negative  result  has  already  been  stated  in  our  last  volume 
(page  571) ;  but  since  some  inquiries  for  the  new  drug  have  been  made 
