468 
Rhamnus  Purshiana. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
1  September,  189&. 
tion  of  it.  In  the  future  I  will  introduce  this  drug  to  the  pro- 
fession." 
This,  so  far  as  the  writer  can  determine,  was  the  first  reference 
concerning  this  remedy  in  pharmaceutical  or  medical  print.  Agree- 
ably to  promise,  in  January,  1878,4  Dr.  Bundy  contributed  a  paper 
on  the  subject  of  cascara  sagrada,  in  which  he  gave  the  uses  of  fluid 
extract  of  cascara  sagrada.  Following  this  came  many  papers 
from  Dr.  Bundy  and  other  physicians,  twenty  contributions  on  the 
subject  being  printed  in  New  Preparations,  1878,  to  which  journal, 
with  few  exceptions,  the  subject  was  confined  during  1877  and  1878. 
Dr.  Bundy  stated  in  his  paper  (1878)  that:  "A  description  of  the 
cascara  I  am  unable  to  give  at  this  time ;  but  suffice  it  to  say  that 
it  is  a  shrub,  and  in  due  time  its  botanical  name  will  be  known." 
He  neglected,  however,  to  concern  himself  further  in  the  matter. 
In  the  fall  of  1878,  Dr.  C.  H.  Adair,  of  Colusa,  Cal,  a  partner  of 
Dr.  Bundy,  sent  the  writer  specimens  of  the  bark  and  botanical 
specimens  of  the  tree  yielding  it.  These,  on  identification  by  Mr. 
Curtis  G.  Lloyd,  proved  to  be  Rhamnus  purshiana.  This  fact  was 
announced  in  a  paper  on  "  Some  Specimens  of  Western  Plants," 
presented  at  the  meeting  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Associa- 
tion held  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  November,  1878  {Proceedings,  1879,  p. 
707),  and  completed  the  drug's  history. 
Naines. — Dr.  Bundy  supplied  the  drug  under  the  Spanish  name, 
cascara  sagrada,  which  name  is  said  to  have  been  in  local  use 
throughout  some  sections  of  California,  and  soon  came  to  be  the 
common  name  of  the  drug.  It  will  surely  dominate  all  others  as 
long  as  the  drug  is  in  use.  The  Anglicized  name,  sacred  bark,  has 
also  been  applied  to  the  drug,  and  the  Scriptural  term,  Chittim 
bark,  was  also  employed  in  early  days  in  some  parts  of  California  ; 
but  these  last  names  are  now  obsolete. 
Summary. — To  Dr.  J.  H.  Bundy,  Colusa,  Cal.,  1877,  is  due  the 
credit  of  introducing  the  bark  of  Rhamnus  purshiana  (cascara 
sagrada)  to  the  medical  profession. 
To  New  Preparations,  Parke,  Davis  &  Co.,  of  Detroit,  Mich.  (1877 
and  1878),  is  due  the  credit  of  bringing  the  drug  to  the  attention  of 
physicians  and  pharmacists. 
To  Parke,  Davis  &  Co.,  of  Detroit,  Mich.  (1878),  is  due  the  credit 
i  New  Preparations,  January ,  1878,  p.  1. 
