104  NOTE  ON  BARKS. 
Soap  Baric. 
The  Quillaia  Saponaria,  or  Soap  Bark,  has  been  occasion- 
ally  imported  into  this  country  for  twenty-five  years  past.  Dr. 
Ruschenberger  mentions  having  become  acquainted  with  it  in 
Chili  in  1827,  when  it  was  reputed  to  be  highly  medicinal,  though 
chiefly  used  for  its  soap-like  qualities  in  cleansing  cloth  from 
stains  and  grease,  and  as  a  hair-wash. 
In  vol.  xii,  p.  209,  of  this  Journal,  a  chemical  analysis  of 
this  bark  by  MM.  Henry,  Jr.  and  Boutron  Charland,  is  pub- 
lished. This  shows  it  to  contain  Saponin,  which  is  its  most 
characteristic  principle,  and  no  tannic  acid  or  bitter  principle. 
Although  not  very  generally  known,  Quillaia  has  considerable 
reputation,  and  would  be  still  more  popular  if  always  obtainable. 
Having  occasion  to  procure  some  a  few  months  since,  I  applied 
to  several  drug  houses  without  success,  till  at  last  I  met  with 
some,  as  I  supposed;  and  having  procured  a  quantity,  without 
much  examination,  added  it  to  a  preparation  I  was  making,  to 
which,  I  soon  discovered,  it  imparted  an  intensely  bitter  taste. 
After  detecting  the  sophistication  in  this  way.  I  proceeded  to 
examine  the  bark,  and  found  it  to  differ  from  Soap  Bark,  and 
though  apparently  a  quassia,  to  be  different  from  any  Simaruba 
at  hand.  It  has  sufficient  interest  to  demand  further  investiga- 
tion. 
Quassia  Bark  ? 
Is  quite  cheap,  and  I  suspect  is  obtainable  in  large  quantities. 
It  comes  in  flat  pieces,  sometimes  two  feet  in  length,  six  inches 
in  width,  and  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  apparently 
from  the  trunk  of  a  very  large  tree.  Externally  it  has  a  layer 
of  thin,  rough,  dark  grey  epidermis  not  easily  separable ;  in- 
ternally it  is  nearly  white,  very  soft  and  glossy ;  its  texture  is 
fibrous,  though  not  as  distinctly  so  as  in  the  case  of  the  Sima- 
ruba bark  I  have  heretofore  seen.  Its  taste  is  intensely  bitter, 
without  astringency  or  acridity.  It  has  no  odor.  The  existence 
of  a  distinct,  easily  separated,  dark  colored  outer  bark,  and  less 
fibrous  and  stringy  structure,  serve  to  distinguish  this  from 
Simaruba,  which  is  from  the  root,  while  this  is  evidently  from 
the  trunk.    May  not  this  be  the  bark  of  the  Quassia  Excelsa  ? 
Its  substitution  for  Soap  bark  may  instantly  be  detected  by 
