372 
Essence  of  Aldn-Gilan. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
X     Aug.  1, 1873. 
I  visited  him  the  next  day  and  found  that  he  had  passed  a  good 
night,  but  was  very  weak  still  and  had  no  appetite ;  he  complained 
also  of  a  sense  of  soreness  and  loss  of  power  in  his  limbs,  notably  in 
the  arms.    A  mild  tonic  restored  him. 
In  treating  him,  I  was  forcibly  reminded  of  the  action  of  Vera- 
trum  viride,  as  I  have  used  it  in  hospital  practice.  I  believe  the 
toxic  properties  of  the  wild  parsnep  to  closely  resemble  those  of  the 
American  hellebore, 
The  wild  parsnep  is  very  common  in  the  swamps  and  along  the 
water  courses  of  this  valley  (and  I  believe  it  to  be  not  uncommon  all 
over  the  Pacific  coast) ;  in  Spring-time  it  casts  off  tubers,  apparently 
to  propagate  itself,  and  before  grass  starts  in  the  Spring  it  is  fre- 
quently eaten  by  cattle,  causing  speedy  death. 
When  the  shoots  have  grown  up,  cattle  and  horses  eat  them  with 
apparent  impunity,  and  the  mixing  of  them  with  grass  cut  as  hay 
seems  to  have  no  injurious  result  ;  but  the  root  seems  to  have  decided 
poisonous  properties  at  all  times.  I  saw  a  fine  cow  die  about  Sep- 
tember 1st,  last,  from  eating  it. 
In  appearance,  mode  of  growth,  odor  and  taste  it  resembles  its 
innocuous  congener,  except  that  its  tubers  are  usually  shorter  and 
rounder,  and  that  it  has  a  latent  pungent  flavor.  In  my  opinion,  it 
would  be  well  to  spread  a  knowledge  of  its  dangerous  properties,  so 
as  to  have  new-comers  made  aware  of  them. 
damp  Independence,  Owens  Valley,  Cal,  May  1st,  1873. 
— Pacific  Med.  and  Surg.  Joum.,  June,  1873. 
ESSENCE  OF  ALAN-GIL  AN  ( YL  ANG-YL  ANG).     UN  ON  A  ODORA- 
TJSSIMA.  • 
By  H.  Gal. 
In  a  paper  presented  to  the  French  Academy  the  author  has  re- 
corded the  results  of  an  investigation  of  the  principal  properties  of 
the  essence  which  for  the  last  few  years  has  been  known  in  commerce 
as  Ylang-ylang  or  Alan-gilan.  It  is  a  product  obtained  by  distilla- 
tion from  the  flower  of  the  Unona  odoratissima,  an  anonaceous  tree 
growing  in  the  Antilles  and  Jamaica. 
The  essence  has  a  density  of  0*980,  at  a  temperature  of  15°  C. 
A  column  five  centimetres  long  rotates  a  beam  of  polarized  light  14° 
