Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
June  1, 1874.  / 
Materia  Medica  Notes. 
287 
by  the  Hottentots,  but  these  have  leaves  of  a  different  shape  to  those 
of  the  Koegoed,  the  leaves  of  the  M.  edule  and  M.  aeinaciforme  being 
scimitar-shaped,  and  those  of  M.  crystallinum,  which  is  well  known 
in  this  country  as  the  ice  plant,  being  broadly  ovate  and  amplexicauh 
The  expressed  juice  of  the  first  two  species  above  mentioned  is  exten- 
sively used  in  the  south  of  Africa,  in  dysentery,  as  a  gargle  in  malig- 
nant sore  throat,  and  in  the  form  of  a  lotion  for  burns  and  scalds. 
The  Koegoed,  besides  being  used  as  stated  by  Mr.  Keyworth,  as  a 
sedative  for  cattle,  is  chewed  by  the  Hottentots  as  an  intoxicating 
agent,  and  appears  to  possess  narcotic  properties  which  deserve  fur- 
ther investigation. 
Some  Adulterations  of  Crude  Drugs. 
Cascarilla. — Notwithstanding  the  great  care  which  is  exercised  by 
most  wholesale  buyers  in  selecting  good  samples  at  the  drug  sales, 
and  in  the  examination  of  all  parcels  which  enter  into  stock  in  their 
warehouses,  spurious  drugs  are  occasionally  overlooked  and  find  their 
way  into  the  retail  trade.  This  spurious  cascarilla  (of  which  a  sam- 
ple is  upon  the  table)  presents  an  instance  in  point.  It  was  imported 
from  the  port  of  Nassau,  in  the  Bahama  Islands.  A  lot  of  cascarilla, 
consisting  of  four  serons  selected  from  a  fine  sample,  was  purchased 
by  one  of  the  first  London  houses.  Of  these  serons,  three  con- 
tained the  true  bark ;  but  the  fourth,  which  appeared  to  contain  un- 
usually fine  specimens,  and  which  were  sent  out  as  such,  was  after- 
wards found  to  consist  almost  entirely  of  the  spurious  bark. 
At  first  sight  this  bark  strongly  resembles  cascarilla  in  appearance, 
but  may  be  distinguished  thus  : — The  periderm  or  outer  layer  of  bark 
does  not  readily  peel  off,  and  is  of  a  fawn  color — not  white.  On  the 
inner  surface  the  bark  is  of  a  reddish  tint  and  is  furnished  with  a 
number  of  straight,  closely-packed,  raised  lines,  which  give  it  a 
striated  appearance,  the  inner  surface  of  cascarilla  being  smooth. 
The  taste  is  not  aromatic  but  astringent,  and  almost  without  bitter- 
ness. The  color  of  the  bark  is  also  of  a  more  reddish  tint  than  that 
of  cascarilla.  From  the  general  appearance  and  microscopical  struc- 
ture of  the  bark  it  seems  probable  that  it  may  belong  to  a  plant  £>f 
the  same  genus  as  the  cascarilla. 
Most  of  the  species  of  croton  occurring  in  the  Bahamas  appear  to 
have  aromatic  barks,  but  in  the  excellent  paper  published  in  the 
Pharm.  Journ.  by  Dr.  Daniell  upon  the  cascarillas  of  the  Bahama 
