n6 
London  Botanic  Gardens. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\      March,  1906. 
adhered  to,  and  is  of  special  interest  because  it  also  originated  with 
Marnock.  Obvious  as  its  advantages  are,  it  only  appears  to  have 
been  adopted  in  one  other  garden  in  the  kingdom,  this  being  at  the 
Cambridge  Botanic  Garden,  where  the  energetic  curator,  Mr.  R. 
Irwin  Lynch,  has  made  use  of  it  to  the  greatest  advantage.  The 
beds  are  of  different  shapes  and  sizes,  and  are  so  laid  out  that  each 
bed  accommodates  the  plants  belonging  to  one  natural  order.  By 
this  means  the  relative  magnitudes  of  the  various  orders  are  shown 
at  a  glance.  Closely  related  natural  orders,  furthermore,  are  grouped 
together,  so  that  their  relationships,  as  well  as  their  respective  im- 
portance in  numbers,  are  indicated.  In  the  centre  of  the  Herbaceous 
Ground  there  is  an  enclosure  containing  a  set  of  meteorological 
instruments,  including  a  series  of  earth  thermometers  from  a  depth 
of  3  inches  to  one  of  16  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
Records  of  these  readings  are  made  three  times  a  day,  and  the  most 
important  of  these  are  printed  in  the  society's  "  Quarterly  Record."" 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  more  interesting  medicinal  plants 
grown  out  of  doors;  some  or  them  are  to  be  found  in  the  section 
especially  devoted  to  economic  plants,  but  the  largest  number  is  in 
the  Herbaceous  Ground : 
Abies  balsamea,  Mill.  ;  Achillea  Millefolium,  L.  ;  Aconitum  Napellus,  L.; 
Acorus  Calamus,  L.,  or  Sweet  Flag;  Alkanna  linctoria,  Tausch.,  from  which 
Alkanet  root  is  obtained  ;  Althcea  officinalis,  L.,  the  Marshmallow  ;  Anthemis 
nobilis,  L.;  Artemisia  Absinthium,  L.;  Arundo  Donax,  L.,  the  "  Canne  de 
Provence"  of  the  French  Codex  ;  Atropa  Belladonna,  L.  ;  Carthamus  tine- 
torius,  L.  ;  Chrysanthemum  Parthenium,  Bernh.;  Colchicum  autumnale,  L.  ; 
Crocus  sativus,  L.  ;  Cytisus  Scoparius,  Link.  ;  Daphne  Laureola,  L.,  and 
Mezereum,  L-,  two  of  the  three  species  of  Daphne  yielding  the  Mezereon  Bark 
of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  ;  Datura  Stramonium,  L.;  Delphinium  Staphi- 
sagria,  Iv  ;  Digitalis  purpurea,  Iv. ;  Ecballium  Elaterium,  A.  Rich  ,  the 
Squirting  Cucumber,  from  which  Blaterin  is  prepared  ;  Eupatorium  perfolia- 
tum,  h  ;  Ferula  Narthex,  Boiss.,  and  other  species  of  Ferula  yielding  gum- 
resins  ;  Ferula  Sumbul,  Hook.  f.  ;  Foeniculum  capillaceum,  Gilib. ;  Fraxinus 
Ornus,  L.,  the  Manna  Ash  ;  Gentiana  lutea,  Iv.,  from  which  the  official  Gentian 
Root  is  obtained  ;  Glycyrrhiza  glabra,  Iv.,  or  Liquorice  ;  Inula  Helenium,  Iv.; 
Iris  Florentina,  L-,  and  other  species  yielding  fragrant  rhizomes;  Juniperus 
Sabina,  L.;  Laurus  nobilis,  L.;  Linum  usitatissimum,  L- ;  Mandragcra  offici- 
narum,  Iv.  ;  Melissa  officinalis,  L.,  or  Balm  ;  Melilotus  officinalis,  Lam.,  or 
Melilot ;  Mentha  piperita,  L.,  the  Peppermint,  and  M.  Pulegium,  L.,  or  Pen- 
nyroyal ;  Menyanthes  trifoliata,  L  ,  or  Bog  bean  ;  Nicotiana  Tabacum,  L. ; 
Papaver  somniferum,  L.;  Peucedanum graveolens,  Benth.;  Phytolacca  decandra,, 
L.,  the  source  of  Poke  root ;  Polygonum  Bistorta,  L.,  or  Bistort ;  Polypodium 
vulgare,  L.,  whose  rhizome  is  official  in  the  French  Codex  ;  Pulmonaria  offici- 
