AmjJuZ'w**Tm'}  New  Variety  of  Rhatany.  303 
constitution,  has  not  been  ascertained ;  but  the  possibility  of  the 
proteids  of  the  venom  being  themselves  poisonous,  is  rendered  more 
probable  by  the  observations  of  Schmidt-Miihlheim  and  Albertoni, 
who  have  shown  that  ordinary  peptone,  injected  into  the  blood,  may 
produce  poisonous  effects,  causing  a  remarkable  fall  in  blood-pressure, 
and  destroying  the  coagulating  power  of  the  blood. — British  Medical 
Journal,  Jan.  9,  1886. 
NOTE  ON  A  NEW  VAEIETY  OF  RHATANY.1 
By  E.  M.  Holmes,  F.  L.  S., 
Curator  of  the  Museum  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society. 
The  three  varieties  of  rhatany  which  have  hitherto  appeared  in 
the  London  market  have  been  respectively  described  under  the  names 
of  Peruvian,  or  Payta  rhatany;  Sa vanilla,  or  New  Granada  rhatany ; 
and  Para,  or  Ceara  rhatany.  These  have  been  referred  to  the  follow- 
ing species :  Krameria  triandra,  Ruiz  and  Pavon ;  K.  tomentosa,  St. 
Hil. ;  and  Krameria  argentea,  Mart.  The  other  species  of  Krameria 
which  furnish  a  rhatany,  but  the  roots  of  which  have  not  as  yet  been 
offered  in  commerce  in  this  country,  are  Krameria  lanceolata,  Torr., 
a  native  of  North  America;  K  secundiflora,  DC,  of  Texas,  Mexico, 
and  Arkansas ;  K.  spartioides,  of  New  Granada  ;  Krameria  acida,  Bg., 
of  Venezuela ;  and  Krameria  cistoidea,  of  ChilL 
The  rhatany  at  present  under  consideration  does  not  come  from  any 
of  the  above-mentioned  countries,  having  been  imported  from  Guaya- 
quil, in  Ecuador,  a  country  to  which  the  Peruvian  rhatany  might 
possibly  be  supposed  to  extend  on  the  one  side,  and  the  New  Grana- 
dian  species  on  the  other. 
The  latter  kind  I  have  not  seen,  but  the  Guayaquil  rhatany  differs 
considerably  from  the  Peruvian  root,  and  possesses  the  following 
characters :  It  is  a  large  woody  root,  from  1  to  2  inches,  or  more,  in 
diameter  in  the  larger  specimens,  and  about  J-  inch  in  the  smaller 
roots.  All  the  pieces  I  have  seen  are  strongly  contorted.  The  bark 
is  of  a  reddish-brown  color,  with  blackish  streaks,  is  thin  in  compari- 
son to  the  meditullium,  is  of  a  fibrous  texture,  and  is  somewhat 
striated  on  the  surface  and  dotted  over  with  small  warts.  It  has  a 
very  astringent  taste,  but  no  marked  odor. 
1  Eead  at  an  Evening  Meeting  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society,  Wednesday, 
April  14th,  1886. 
