Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  > 
October,  1898.  / 
Reviews. 
531 
Baron  Sir  F.  von  Mueller  said  in  a  letter:  "  This  tree  should  become  of  the 
utmost  importance  also  to  the  Western  Hemisphere.  As  a  tropical  tree,  fit  to 
grow  in  malarian  swamps  and  containing  in  its  foliage  much  antiseptic  and 
anti-miasmatic  oil,  it  deserves  your  especial  attention.  It  will  grow  where  no 
eucalyptus  could  be  reared."  He  further  states  in  his  "  Select  Extra  Tropical 
Plants:"  Tee  Cajaput  tree  of  India,  North  and  East  Australia,  is  found  as  far 
extra-tropical  as  34°  south  latitude.  This  tree  attains  a  height  of  about  80  feet, 
with  a  stem  reaching  4  feet  in  diameter,  on  tidal  ground;  it  can,  with  great  advan- 
tage, be  utilized  on  such  intra-tropic  areas  and  in  salt  swamps  for  subduing  mala- 
rian vapors,  where  no  eucalyptus  will  live.  The  lamellar  bark  protects  it  against 
conflagrations.  It  is  splendid  for  fruit  packing  ;  oranges  kept  four  months  in 
it;  lemons,  five  months;  apples,  3  months.  The  wood  is  fissile,  hard  and  close 
grained,  regarded  as  almost  imperishable  underground,  and  resists  the  attacks 
of  termites  (white  ants).  It  is  well  adapted  for  posts,  wharf  piles,  shipbuilding 
and  various  artisans'  work.  The  foliage  yields  the  well-known  Cajaput  oil,  so 
closely  akin  to  eucalyptus  oil.  Mr.  K.  Staiger  obtained  on  distilling  the  leaves 
as  much  as  2  per  cent,  of  oil,  which  might  be  manufactured  on  a  large  scale 
from  ample  material  in  many  parts  of  Australia.  It  is  rich  in  Cineol.  The 
tree  should  be  extensively  planted  where  yellow  fever  occurs." 
Botanic  Gardens  and  Domains.  Report  for  year  1897  from  J.  H.  Maiden, 
Director  Botanic  Gardens,  Sydney.  This  report  deals  particularly  with  the 
changes  and  additions  made  in  the  Botanic  Gardens  of  Sydney.  Among  the 
items  we  note  with  regret  that  the  large  indigenous  trees,  those  which  were 
probably  in  their  present  position  before  Captain  Cook  visited  these  shores,  are 
dying  out.  During  the  gale  in  August,  1897,  a  fine  tree  of  white  or  cabbage 
gum  {Eucalyptus  h&mastoma,  var.  micrantha)  fell  down  and  smashed  a  seat 
made  of  2-inch  hardwood  to  splinters.    Fortunately  no  one  was  injured. 
Me  oirs  of  the  American  Academy  of  Auts  and  Sciences.  Cam- 
bridge :  John  Wilson  &  Son,  University  Press,  June,  189'-. 
In  these  memoirs  is  contained  some  new  observations  on  the  Planet  Mercury 
(with  8  plates)  by  Percival  Lowell.  These  observations  tend  to  show  that  the 
Planet  Mercury  is  an  ellipsoid  and  a  body  somewhat  larger  than  has  been  sup- 
posed, its  polar  diameter  subtending  a  distance  of  about  33,000  miles.  Rotating 
in  87.969  days  its  orbital  period. 
Its  density  is  much  less  than  the  earth's.  Its  mass  being  probably  about  ^ 
that  of  the  earth's.  It  possesses  no  certain  signs  of  atmosphere,  water,  vege- 
tation or  organic  life.  It  is  a  world  as  dead  as  the  moon,  but  differently 
brought  to  such  condition. 
Composition  of  Maize  (Indian  Corn),  Including  the  Grain,  Meal, 
Stalks,  Pith,  Fodder  and  Cobs.  Compiled  chiefly  from  the  Records  of 
the  Division  of  Chemistry,  by  W.  H.  Wiley,  chemist  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C. 
An  attempt  has  been  made  to  briefly  review  the  chief  points  connected 
with  the  constitution  and  economic  value  of  the  Indian-corn  plant.  It  is  pre- 
dominantly the  characteristic  cereal  crop  of  the  United  States,  and  its  money 
value  is,  perhaps,  greater  than  that  of  any  one  crop,  with  the  exception  of  cot- 
ton.   It  has  been  shown  that  it  is  a  valuable  food  for  man  and  that  it  is  the 
