Am'oc0tUri9^8arm" )  Patchouli  Production  in  Straits  Settlements.  733 
mens  at  Kew  Herbarium,  Mr.  J.  R.  Drummond,  who  happened  to 
be  there,  told  me  that  he  had  seen  the  plant  growing  in  the  Hima- 
layas, and  that  no  one  who  has  seen  the  British  plant  could  con- 
found the  Himalayan  one  with  it.  The  color  is  a  paler  green,  and 
its  habit  stiff  and  erect,  the  branching  being  at  a  more  acute  angle. 
It  is  noticeable  also*  in  the  dried  specimens  that  the  lateral  veins  of 
the  leaves  branch  off  at  a  more  acute  angle.  The  root  also  has  a 
distinctly  radiate  structure,  even  in  the  smaller  pieces,  which  is  not 
the  case  with  the  British  plant. 
At  all  events,  it  is  desirable  that  experiments  should  be  made  at 
Kumaun  on  the  plant  cultivated  there,  to  ascertain  whether  the  aver- 
age yield  of  alkaloid  is  greater  in  the  Indian-grown  than  in  the 
British  plant,  also  that  the  Atropa  lutescens  should  be  examined  as 
to  the  alkaloids  it  contains,  and  the  proportion  in  which  they  are 
present.  A  microscopical  examination  of  the  root  is  already  in 
progress,  and  if  it  proves  that  there  is  any  important  difference  in 
the  alkaloidal  contents  of  the  Indian  root,  it  is  hoped  that  it  may  be 
possible  to  distinguish  it  even  if  used  in  the  powdered  state ;  and,  if 
superior,  that  its  value  should  be  recognized.  It  may  be  pointed  out, 
in  conclusion,  that  the  Atropa  Boetica  of  Wilkomm,  which  occurs 
in  Spain,  bears  some  resemblance  in  its  yellow  flowers  to  those  of 
A.  lutescens,  but  the  leaves  are  ovate,  rather  than  elliptical. 
PATCHOULI  PRODUCTION  IN  STRAITS 
SETTLEMENTS.1 
By  Consul  George  L.  Logan. 
Patchouli  is  both  a  wild  and  cultivated  crop  in  the  Malay  Penin- 
sula. The  following  data  concerning  it  were  furnished  to  the 
Penang  consulate  by  the  Director  of  Agriculture  for  the  Federated 
Malay  States : 
"  Patchouli  (Pogostemon  patchouli)  is  a  soft-leaved  herb  from 
2  to  3  feet  high,  much  branched,  with  square  stems,  emitting  when 
rubbed  the  characteristic  smell  of  patchouli.  The  Chinese,  who 
chiefly  cultivate  this  plant  in  Malaya,  often  plant  it  on  newly  cleared 
ground  among  the  fallen  logs.  Here,  slightly  shaded,  it  grows 
very  rapidly  and  well.  Where  it  is  regularly  cultivated,  it  is  planted 
in  properly  prepared  beds. 
1  Commerce  Reports,  September  14,  1918. 
