530  Vegetables  Used  as  Food  in  Japan.  {Amoctui884harm' 
dressed  and  well  cleaned  commercial  article.  Panicum  italicum,  a  species 
of  millet,  is,  after  rice,  the  principal  food  of  the  poorer  classes.  Sorghum 
saccharatum,  is  an  introduction  from  America.  Phaseolus  radiatus  is  a 
bean  largely  cultivated  and  highly  esteemed  ;  it  differs  but  little  from  the 
European  variety,  Phaseolus  vulgaris. 
Canavalia  incurva,  another  sort  of  bean,  is  a  climber  notmuch  cultivated  ; 
the  pods  are  about  20  cm.  long,  bearing  6-8  rose-colored  seeds,  weighing 
on  an  average  2*5  grams  each  ;  they  have,  when  ripe,  a  disagreeble  smell, 
and  are  generally  eaten  unripe.  Solarium  Melongena,  or  egg  plant,  is 
largely  cultivated,  and  many  varieties  of  it  exist ;  it  is  reared  from  seed, 
and  bears  fruit  for  a  long  time.  The  specimen  of  fruit  examined  weighed 
64  grams  ;  its  value  as  food  about  equals  that  of  the  pumpkin  or  gourd. 
Young  shoots  of  the  Bambusa  puerula,  and  three  other  varieties  of  bamboo, 
are  very  much  in  favor.  As  soon  as  they  appear  above  the  earth  in  spring, 
they  are  dug  out  and  eaten,  dressed  as  asparagus.  Different  kinds  of  the 
sweet  potato  (Batatus  edulis)  are  largely  cultivated,  and  are  great  favorites  ; 
their  long  succulent  stems  interlace  and  cover  the  soil,  keeping  it  moist. 
Their  deficiency  in  nitrogen  and  the  small  amount  of  ash  compared  with 
other  root  vegetables,  is  remarkable. 
Dioscorea  japonica  is  of  limited  cultivation,  and  used  by  the  wealthier 
classes.  Arctium  Lappa,  the  seeds  (root?)  of  one  variety,  Ummeda  Gobo, 
reach  an  extraordinary  size,  a  length  of  1  meter,  and  circumference  of 
about  30  cm.  Colocasia  antiquorum,  the  sweet  Japanese  potato,  is  exten- 
sively cultivated  ;  like  the  common  potato,  it  is  grown  from  the  sliced 
tubers.  Conophollus  Konjak  is  a  somewhat  similar  plant ;  the  root  is  rich 
in  starch  ;  it  is  used  in  the  preparation  of  a  gelatinous  sort  of  food  called 
konyaku,  peeled,  dried,  and  rubbed  to  powder  ;  milk  of  lime,  or  the  soluble 
salts  from  wood-ash  is  added  to  it,  and  stirred  up  to  a  stiff  paste  ;  it  dries 
to  a  clammy  mass.  Brassica  rapa  rapifera,  a  turnip,  is  a  favorite  food. 
Raphanus  sativus  is  a  kind  of  radish  which  grows  to  an  enormous  size, 
specimens  weighing  2|-3  kilos  are  not  uncommon,  and  one  sort  is  much 
esteemed  for  its  sweet  taste;  the  radish  is  one  of  the  most  esteemed  vegeta- 
ble foods  of  Japan. — Landw.  Versuchs.-Stat.,  30,  42 — 51;  Jour.  Chem.  Soc, 
June,  1884,  p.  674. 
Use  of  Helenin. — Dr.  Valenzuola  has  successfully  treated  troublesome 
coughs  by  helenin  given  in  pill  form  or  dissolved  in  alcohol.  He  employed 
it  in  bronchitis  and  phthisis,  in  doses  of  one-eighth  grain  in  pill  ten  times 
a  day,  or  five  drops  of  the  tincture  three  times  a  day.  In  every  case  the 
cough  was  moderated,  the  expectoration  was  lessened  in  quantity  and 
became  mucuous,  and  the  thoracic  pains  were  greatly  mitigated.  The  drug 
also  increases  the  appetite  and  improves  digestion.  It  is  possessed  of  no 
narcotic  properties.  Helenin  is  not  a  new  remedy,  for  it  was  known, 
though  but  little  esteemed,  by  our  fathers. — Med.  Record,  May  31.  El  Siglo 
Med. 
