668      *      Minutes  of  Pharmaceutical  Meetings.  {^pec.T.  m^"" 
Mr.  Charles  Heinitsh,  of  Lancaster,  Pa.,  presented  a  sample  of  capsicum, 
bearing  a  very  small  fruit,  finely  flavored.  It  was  raised  from  seeds  brought 
from  Mexico  during  the  war.    The  species  seems  to  be  unknown. 
An  original  package,  in  which  otto  of  rose  was  imported,  was  presented  for 
the  cabinet  by  Tilge  &  Bro. 
Prof.  Maisch  exhibited  specimens  of  cundurango,  received,  since  the  last 
pharmaceutical  meeting^  from  various  parties.  The  flowering  branch  and  the 
pod  of  that  variety  of  cundurango  called  "  mata  perro,"  sent  for  exhibition  by 
McKesFon  &  Bobbins,  of  New  York,  belong  to  a  plant  of  the  natural  order 
Asclepiadacece,  though  not  to  the  genus  Asclepias.  Authentic  specimens  of 
mata-perro,  turabo  grande  and  tumbo  chico,  received  from  the  same  house,  were 
likewise  exhibited,  and  compared  with  a  specimen  coming  from  the  State  De- 
partment at  Washington  (see  page  525,  Nov.  number).  The  latter  is  a  piece 
from  a  young  branch,  and  probably  identical  with  the  tumbo  grande,  which» 
however,  consists,  in  the  specimens  exhibited,  of  older  bark  only.  The  experi- 
ments of  physicians  with  the  cundurango  first  received  in  this  country  have 
not  sustained  its  reputation.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  mata  perro  and 
tumbo  chico  possess  valuable  medicinal  properties ;  for  the  former,  alterative 
properties  and  beneficial  effects  in  syphilitic  complaints  are  claimed.  Various 
samples  of  cundurango  met  with  in  commerce  consist  of  mata-perro  and  tumbo 
ohico,  the  latter  sometimes  mixed  with  small  and  variable  quantities  of  tumbo 
grande.  The  appearance  of  the  decoctions  of  the  three  varieties,  and  their 
behavior  to  ammonia  and  nitric  acid,  aff'ord  no  reliable  means  of  distinguishing 
them,  as  had  been  stated  in  a  circular  lately  received. 
Prof.  Maisch  also  exhibited  South  American  and  East  Indian  clove  or  culila- 
wan  bark.  The  former  comes  from  Dicypellium  caryophyllatum,  Nees,  and  occurs 
in  large  quills,  composed  of  several  layers  of  the  thin  liber;  the  latter  is  the 
produce  of  Cmnamomum  Gulilawan,  Nees,  and  comes  in  flat  pieces,  the  taste 
resembling  a  mixture  of  cloves,  cinnamon  and  sassafras. 
Prof.  Parrish  presented  specimens  of  "  Boldo"  leaves  and  branches,  brought 
by  Dr.  E.  W.  Burton  from  Conception,  in  Southern  Chili,  where  it  has  a  repu- 
tation among  physicians  and  people  as  a  specific  remedy  in  chronic  liver  com- 
plaints. The  tree  was  supposed  by  Dr.  Burton  to  be  a  species  of  Drimys,  pro- 
bably Drimys  Chilensis,  but  the  leaves  are  opposite,  while  those  of  all  the 
Magnolmcece  are  alternate.  The  tree  is  an  evergreen/growing  20  feet  high) 
and  is  very  abundant.  The  twigs  or  small  branches  are  covered  with  a  thin 
bark,  perhaps  a  line  in  thickness,  firmly  adherent  to  the  tough  and  fibrous  wood 
The  wood  is  slightly,  the  bark  very,  aromatic  ;  it  is  wrinkled  longitudinally, 
covered  with  vesicles,  light  brown  or  fawn  color,  much  branched,  with  opposite 
very  numerous  branchlets  ;  the  terminal  branches  are  very  bushy.  The  leaves 
— which  are  described  as  of  a  dark  though  lively  green  color  on  the  upper  sur- 
face, lighter  on  the  under  when  fresh — are  in  this  dry  specimen  reddish  brown, 
mottled  with  whitish  spots,  coriaceous,  deeply  marked  with  midrib  and  alternate, 
sometimes  opposite  veins,  which  are  anastomosed  and  looped  near  the  edges. 
They  are  conspicuously  covered  with  vesicles  and  very  aromatic,  opposite, 
petiolate,  entire,  ovate,  with  a  small  stipule  at  the  base.  The  flavor  is  grateful, 
and  recalls  that  of  chenopodiura.    The  medicinal  virtues  of  this  tree  were  dia- 
