356 
GEOGRAPHICAL  RELATIONS  OF  LAURACEiE. 
established.*  In  1862  I  forwarded  to  Mr.  N.  Wilson,  Curator 
of  the  Botanic  Garden  at  Bath,  Jamaica,  a  jalap  plant,  of  which 
he  wrote  to  me  in  October,  1863,  that  it  was  growing  luxuriantly 
at  an  elevation  of  2000  feet,  and  that  he  had  no  doubt  the  plant 
could  be  cultivated  on  the  mountains  of  Jamaica  as  an  article  of 
commerce. 
The  culture  of  Exogonium  Purga,  Benth.,  is  also  being  at- 
tempted in  the  south  of  France  by  Prof.  Dr.  J.  E.  Planchon,  of 
Montpellier,  and  by  M.  Gustave  Thuret,  of  Antibes,  but  the 
summer  climate  of  those  localities  is  so  much  drier  than  that  of 
the  region  in  which  the  jalap  plant  is  indigenous,  that  success  is 
doubtful.    Tubers  have  also  been  sent  to  Madeira. 
There  is  one  other  point  in  connection  with  this  subject  upon 
which  we  seem  to  require  information,  and  that  is  the  age  at 
which  the  jalap  tubers  can  be  collected  to  most  advantage.  It 
is  well  known  that  the  jalap  of  commerce  consists  of  tubers  of 
all  sizes  between  those  weighing  a  few  grains  up  to  such  as  weigh 
several  ounces, — and  that  the  larger,  and  those  which  are  inter- 
nally most  compact,  dry,  and  resinous,  are  preferred. 
The  adoption  of  a  better  method  of  drying  the  tubers  than 
that  at  present  pursued  will  also  deserve  attention.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  this  object  will  be  accomplished  by  slicing  the  tubers 
while  fresh,  and  drying  them  with  the  gentle  heat  of  a  stove. — 
Lond.  Pharm.  Jour.,  May,  1867. 
ON  THE  GEOGRAPHICAL  RELATIONS  OF  LAURACEiE. 
By  C.  F.  Meissner. 
[A  paper  on  the  above  subject  was  presented  to  and  published 
by  the  Bavarian  Academy  of  Sciences.    We  extract  die  follow-  • 
ing  review  from  the  last  chapter :] 
1.  The  Lauracese  contain  972  species,  constituting  an  order 
of  the  fifth  rank. 
*  Manual  of  Mat.  Med.  and  Therap.,  ed.  1853,  p.  553. 
In  Birdwood's  Catalogue  of  the  Economic  Products  of  the' Presidency 
of  Bombay,  Bombay,  1862,  it  is  stated  at  p.  57,  that  Exogonium  Purga, 
Benth.,  is  "  cultivated  on  account  of  Government  at  Hewra."  I  am, 
however,  assured  that  there  is  some  error  in  this  statement,  and  that  the 
plant  does  not  now  exist  in  the  Hewra  garden. 
