Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
Mar.  1,  1873.  / 
Editorial. 
139 
produced,  not  by  incisions,  but  by  the  attacks  of  beetles  or  some  creatures  of 
the  kind,  in  consequence  of  which  the  gum  had  exuded  and  covered  the  stem. 
The  poisonous  nature  of  Sparttum  junceum  had  been  referred  to  in  the  paper. 
The  Spanish  broom  had  been  examined  by  Dr.  Stenhouse,  who  had  found  a  new 
principle  in  it,  and  therefore,  anything  in  connection  with  that  subject  was  of 
interest.  Of  course,  the  drug  was  a  strong  diuretic.  With  regard  to  starch,, 
no  doubt  it  was  present  in  plants  allied  to  the  arum,  and  could  probably  be  ob- 
tained in  large  quantities  from  the  large  corms  and  underground  stems  without, 
much  difficulty.  He  apprehended  that  the  poisonous  quality  was  got  rid  of  not 
so  much  by  washing  as  by  a  certain  amount  of  temperature  that  was  employed 
in  the  preparation  of  the  substance. 
"  Mr.  Collins  said  that  there  seemed  to  be  two  kinds  of  '  harmala'  seed,  and 
both  seemed  to  have  had  that  name  at  first.  Those  of  Peg  anion  harmala  he- 
had  compared  with  a  herbarium  specimen.  The  other  was  certainly  those  of  a 
rutaceous  plant,  but  whether  it  was  a  variety  of  Peganum  liarmala,  he  (Mr. 
Collins)  could  not  say.  He  did  not  see  in  the  Herbarium  of  the  British  Museum 
any  specimen  which  showed  a  variation  in  the  seed  between  those  two.  With 
regard  to  argan,  he  could  not  help  wondering  why  the  oil  had  not  been  intro- 
duced into  this  country.  Sir  William  Hooker,  in  the  '  Journal  of  Botany/ 
gave  a  very  good  account  of  it,  and  it  had  been  very  highly  spoken  of.  As  to 
Tacout  galls,  they  were  very  small,  and  they  did  not  seem  to  be  equal  to  the 
Morea  galls  The  latter  were  introduced  to  commerce  some  time  ago,  but  from 
inquiry  which  he  had  made,  he  found  that  they  were  not  considered  good  enough 
to  be  sent.  The  dealers  said  that  when  the  galls  were  very  small  they  did  not 
like  them,  because  they  were  very  often  mixed  with  foreign  substances.  With 
regard  to  euphorbium,  it  would  have  been  very  interesting  if  the  plant  from 
Kew  had  been  seut  to  the  meeting,  because  it  had  now,  through  the  researches 
of  Dr.  Cosson,*  some  historical  interest.  It  would  be  remembered  that  Dr. 
Berg  some  time  ago  made  an  examination  of  certain  parts  of  the  stems  found 
in  the  specimens,  and  he  gave  it  the  name  of  Euphorbium  resinifera.  Dr. 
Cosson  having  examined  specimens  which  he  received  from  Mr.  Hanbury  and 
others,  said  that  he  believed  that  Dr.  Herg  was  correct.  Dr.  Hooker  in  the 
meantime  had  obtained  a  plant  from  Mr.  Cartensen,  and  this  was  now  growing. 
The  only  matter  to  be  cleared,  and  to  make  one  sure  that  it  was  this  species 
which  yielded  the  gum  euphorbium,  was  the  flowering  of  the  specimen.  That 
event  would  prove  whether  Dr.  Berg  and  Dr.  Cosson  were  correct." 
Professor  Redwood  stated  that  a  reprint  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  would 
again  be  required  very  shortly,  and  referred  to  some  alterations  and  additions 
which  would  then  become  necessary,  it  is  not  proposed  to  issue  a  new  edition, 
but  merely  a  supplement  and  appendix  with  the  present  pharmacopoeia. 
(SMtorial  Department* 
Professor  Oscar  Oldberg's  address  before  the  National  College  of  Phar- 
macy was  the  subject  of  some  editorial  comments  in  our  last  number.  The 
printed  copy  sent  us  being  prefixed  by  a  quotation  from  our  remarks  published 
in  November,  we  deemed  the  address  written  with  especial  reference  thereto, 
and  therefore  regarded  it  as  reflecting  upon  the  motives  which  prompted  the 
first  notice.  In  this  we  are  glad  to  say  we  have  been  mistaken.  Professor 
Oldberg  writes  that  "  not  a  word  of  your  quotation  was,  either  imputatively  or 
*  Pharm.  Journ.  [3 J,  vol.  iii,  1049. 
