356 
Natal  Aloes. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
July,  1891. 
opacity  to  true  Hepatic  aloes,  but  differs  from  it  in  four  particulars, 
(i)  in  odor,  which  resembles  that  of  Cape  aloes  ;  (2)  in  the  color  of 
the  powder,  which  has  a  greenish-brown,  not  yellowish-brown,  tint ; 
(3)  in  the  chemical  reaction  with  nitric  acid,  and  (4)  in  the  fact  that 
it  yields  a  distinct  aloin. 
Some  months  since,  hoping  that  more  light  might  be  thrown  on 
the  question  by  examining  the  juice  of  leaves  of  authenticated 
plants,  I  suggested  to  Messrs.  Bainbridge  and  Morrow  that  they 
should  investigate  the  subject  from  this  point  of  view.  Their 
results,  published  in  the  Pharmacaitical  Journal  ([3],  xx,  p.  570), 
were  unexpected,  and  led  to  the  conclusion  that  Aloe  succotrma 
alone,  of  all  the  leaves  examined,  was  the  most  likely  source  of  the 
Natal  aloes  of  commerce. 
I  then  wrote  to  Mr.  J.  Medley  Wood,  asking  him  to  make  further 
inquiry  concerning  the  botanical  source  of  the  drug,  and  the  Direc- 
tor of  Kew  Gardens,  who  had  already  most  courteously  furthered 
my  wishes  by  supplying  the  aloe  leaves  necessary  for  Messrs.  Bain- 
bridge and  Morrow's  investigation,  also  wrote  officially  to  Mr. 
Wood,  with  the  result  that  the  latter  sent  some  aloes  prepared  in 
Natal  (as  described  in  the  Kew  Bulletin,  No.  44),  to  Kew  (see  Am. 
Jour.  Pharm.,  1 891,  p.  33).  A  small  portion  of  this  was  kindly 
placed  at  my  disposal  by  the  Director.  This  specimen,  however 
resembled  Cape  aloes  in  its  translucent  appearance,  and  not  Natal 
aloes. 
This  specimen  I  handed  to  Mr.  Bainbridge  to  test  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  aloes  previously  examined.  As  will  be  seen  from 
the  table  given  by  Mr.  Bainbridge  the  aloes,  although  translucent, 
agrees  with  the  opaque  Natal  aloes  and  with  the  juice  of  A.  succo- 
trina,  in  its  chemical  reactions. 
I  then  asked  him  to  make  comparative  experiments  with  some 
aloes  and  aloe  juice  obtained  from  plants  growing  near  Port  Eliza- 
beth, which  were  presented  February  9,  1885,  by  Mr.  Albert  Walsh, 
of  the  firm  of  B.  G.  Lennon  &  Co.,  together  with  a  living  plant. 
The  plant  I  had  compared  at  Kew  with  the  living  specimens  in  the 
collection  there,  and  it  appeared  to  agree  fairly  well  as  regards  the 
leaf  with  Aloe  platylepis,  Baker.  The  plant  presented  by  Mr. 
Walsh  was  handed  to  the  then  Curator  of  Kew  Gardens,  Mr.  Smith, 
for  cultivation,  but  it  died  without  flowering. 
The  results  of  Mr.  Bainbridge's  examination  shows  that  this 
