530 
Reviews. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
X     October,  1898. 
L.  Hermann.    Lehrbuch  der  Experimentellen  Toxicologic,  1874,  p.  1. 
Ed.  R.  von  Hofmann.    Lehrbuch  der  Gerichtlichen  Medicin,  1895,  p.  617. 
Wharton  and  Stille.    A   Treatise  on  Medical  Jurisprudence,  4th  edition,  by  R.  Amory 
and  Ed.  S.  Wood,  1884,  Vol.  II,  p.  1. 
R.  Robert.    Lehrbuch  der  Intoxikationen,  1893,  pp.  9-16. 
REVIEWS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 
BuEEETiN  OF  THE  BoTanicae  Department,  Jamaica.  Edited  by  William 
Fawcett,  Director  of  the  Public  Gardens  and  Plantations.  Kingston,  Jamaica: 
Government  Printing  Office,  79  Duke  Street.  1898. 
This  Bulletin  contains  information  concerning  the  following  subjects  :  Re- 
port on  Sugar  Cane,  Anti-Malarial  Tree,  Wild  Olives  of  Jamaica,  Methods  of 
Propagating  Oranges  and  other  Citrus  Fruits,  Analysis  of  Cuba  Tobacco  Soil, 
Synoptical  L,ist  of  Ferns,  Contributions  and  Additions  to  the  Library,  etc. 
It  has  been  stated  frequently  in  the  Bulletin  that  the  olive  (Olea  Europoea) 
has  not  been  known  to  flower  or  fruit  in  Jamaica.  Nevertheless,  numerous 
communications  are  received  to  the  effect  that  the  writers  have  seen  the  olive 
tree  bearing  fruit.  In  all  these  cases  the  examination  showed  that  there  are 
several  wild  olives,  but  none  of  them  are  the  true  olive  of  commerce.  Infor- 
mation given  to  inquiries  on  this  point  have  more  than  once  saved  the  invest- 
ment of  capital  in  an  attempt  to  introduce  and  grow  the  olive  on  a  commercial 
scale  in  places  where  a  "  Wild  Olive  "  is  known  to  bear  abundant  fruit.  Some 
of  these  "  Wild  Olives  "  are  Ximenia  Americana,  (N.  O.  Oleaceae),  called 
Mountain  Plum  or  Seaside  Plum.  The  tree  is  usually  armed  with  spines,  and 
the  leaves  are  not  opposite,  as  in  the  olive.  The  fruit  is  about  the  size  of  an 
olive,  of  a  yellow  color,  with  a  peculiar  aromatic  flavor  and  delicious  perfume; 
there  is  one  stone,  the  kernel  of  which  tastes  like  a  filbert.  The  fruit  is  useful 
in  cases  of  habitual  constipation  and  gastric  troubles  when  the  irritating  action 
of  drastic  purgatives  is  to  be  avoided;  the  kernel  being  more  strongly  purga- 
tive. Ximenia  is  a  native  of  the  tropics,  and  in  India  the  Brahmins  use  the 
yellow  wood  as  a  substitute  for  sandal  wood  in  their  religious  ceremonies. 
Another  "Wild  Olive  "  is  the  product  of  Terminalia  Buceras,  Wright  (N.  O. 
Combretaceae),  called  the  "Black  Olive  "  or  "Olive  Bark  Tree."  The  leaves 
of  the  tree  differ  from  those  of  the  true  olive  not  only  in  the  way  they  grow, 
but  also  in  being  broader  at  the  top  than  below.  The  berry  is  only  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  long,  with  the  remains  of  the  calyx  at  the  top.  Related  to  this  is 
T.  Hilariana,  Stend,  a  tree  much  resembling  T.  Buceras,  and  the  berry  is  twice 
as  large.  Both  are  natives  of  the  West  Indies  and  the  northern  part  of  South 
America. 
Bontia  daplinoides,  L.  (N.  O.  Myoporinese),  is  a  shrub  in  the  French  West 
Indies,  and  known  as  "  Olivier  batard."  The  leaves  are  in  shape  like  an  olive, 
but  they  are  not  opposite.  A  decoction  of  the  flowers  is  recommended  for 
ophthalmia.  The  fruit  is  yellowish,  nearly  one-half  an  inch  long,  and  when 
ripe  contains  an  oil  of  a  yellowish  color,  which  is  employed  in  colic  and  other 
irritations  of  the  intestines.  It  may  be  that  it  is  on  this  fruit  the  famous  Ring 
Tail  Pigeons  get  so  fat  and  acquire  their  bitterish  flavor. 
The  Director  announces  that  they  are  ready  to  distribute  young  seedlings  of 
an  "  anti-malarial  tree ,"  Melaleuca  leucadendron,  L.    Regarding  this  tree, 
