ANovember,hi89™-}    The  Apocynacece  in  Materia  Medica.  549 
etc.,  reunited  5  niger  and  5.  minor,  and  founded  a  species  probably 
near  to  5.  hispidus,  but  upon  which  the  botanical  information  is 
faulty  (we  know  but  the  fruit  and  the  seeds  only).  It  also  ap- 
proaches S.  sarmentorus,  and  specimens  examined  by  the  author 
are  considered  far  from  proving  that  S.  Niger  was  a  synonym 
for  S.  Minor ;  further  botanical  research  in  this  mysterious  region  of 
the  Niger  may  possibly  show  two  or  even  more  species.  This,  or 
these,  species  approach  the  S.  hispidus  and  inhabit  the  same  regions. 
In  the  type  of  S.  Niger  Blondel  the  follicles  are  very  strict,  measur- 
ing nearly  15  millimetres  in  diameter,  32  centimetres  in  length,  or 
even  more,  the  extremity  being  broken  off.  Externally,  color  brown, 
quite  clear,  but  the  fruit  was  incompletely  scraped.  According  to 
Blondel,  the  parts  not  scraped  are  a  dirty  earthy  gray  or  reddish. 
The  pericarp  of  5.  Niger  Blondel  offers  some  anatomical  differences 
from  the  hispidus:  in  the  fibrous  zone,  the  cells  of  the  parenchyma 
are  less  compressed  and  laticiferous  vessels  are  more  localized 
about  the  vascular  fascicles,  and  these,  here,  are  much  developed. 
The  fibres  are  less  numerous  and  with  very  large  lumen.  In  the 
elastic  zone  the  dimensions  of  the  fibres  are  larger,  and  in  the  ex- 
ternal longitudinal  layer  are  much  thicker  than  the  internal.  The 
most  constant  difference  between  these  seeds  and  those  of  the  hispi- 
dus is,  perhaps,  the  proportion  between  the  naked  part  and  the 
plumed  part  of  the  awn,  the  first  becomes  here  quite  sensibly  larger 
than  the  second,  and  it  is  questionable  if  this  shaft  is  removed  (as 
often  is  the  case  in  commerce),  if  the  distinction  is  possible.  It  is 
true  that  the  size  is  smaller  in  the  form  known  as  minor  (8-14  mil- 
limetres in  length),  but  it  is  larger  in  the  form  Niger,  and  has  much 
the  covering  and  the  size  of  seeds  of  the  S.  hispidus.  The  raphe  is  here 
more  visible  than  in  the  hispidus,  and  extends  over  two-thirds  of 
the  seed.  The  hairs  of  the  seed  are  quite  similar,  but  are  possibly 
less  hard  and  fall  very  easily.  The  color  of  the  surface  is  a  brown, 
at  times  light,  at  other  times  deep,  nearly  violet.  When  the  seed 
is  of  a  certain  size,  the  hairs  being  broken,  the  raphe  easily  seen 
and  the  color  light,  the  confusion  with  S.  glaber  of  Gaboon  be- 
comes possible.  The  form  plano-convex  indicates,  however,  that  it 
is  remote.  The  more  rounded  shape  of  the  base  will  not  serve, 
because  many  of  the  seeds  of  S.  hispidus  are  likewise  rounded.  The 
single  point  that  may  be  brought  forward  is  the  relative  breadth  of 
the  seed  compared  with  its  length  ;  the  seed  of  the  minor  is  broader 
