AmMJa0rch,!8h95!'m•}    The  Apocynacece  in  Materia  Medica.  167 
internal  face  is  brown,  finely  striated  longitudinally.  The  fracture 
is  granular,  short  in  the  periderm,  and  although  quite  fibrous  in  the 
internal  zone,  is  easily  broken;  the  color  is  lighter  than  that  of  the 
faces.  The  odor  is  very  slight.  The  taste  is  strongly  bitter,  slightly 
pungent  and  disagreeable.  Hesse  has  isolated  from  this  bark  the 
following  alkaloids,  Alstonine  and  Alstonidine ',  and  Porphyrine  and 
Porphyrosine  possibly  alkaloidal.  The  analysis  of  Oberlin  and 
Schlagdenhaufer  indicates  the  presence  of  the  alkaloids  Alstonine 
crystallized  and  Alstonicine  amorphous. 
Hesse  attributes  to  Alstonidine  properties  analogous  at  once  to 
those  of  quinine  and  to  nux  vomica.  The  experiments  of  Ban- 
croft and  of  Bixby  prove  that  this  drug  is  valuable  as  a  tonic  febri- 
fuge and  more  valuable  as  a  febrifuge  than  as  a  tonic,  while  the 
Alstonia  scholris  is  more  generally  employed  against  dysentery. 
The  A.  constricta  is,  however,  a  good  stimulant  to  the  nervous  sys- 
tem. As  a  bitter,  it  is  comparable  with  gentian.  It  is  ordinarily 
administered  in  powder,  .5  gm.  per  day  in  syrup  or  in  tincture  4  to 
8  cc.  per  day. 
ROOTS  AND  RHIZOMES. 
The  subterranean  organs,  with  the  exception  of  the  Apocynums 
of  America,  are  relatively  unimportant.  They  are  at  times  swollen 
and  tuberculous,  but  more  often  the  roots  are  ligneous  and  cylin- 
drical. The  cortex  presents  the  same  general  constitution  as  that 
of  the  stem,  with  usually  an  abundance  of  starch  and  frequently  a 
diminution  of  the  thickened  elements  (fibres  and  sclerotics).  The 
oxalate  and  the  laticiferous  vessels  are  less  abundant  than  in  the 
stem.   The  pith  is  ordinarily  absent. 
Apocynum  Cannabinum. — The  rhizome  of  the  Apocynum  canna- 
binum  L.  is  commonly  known  as  the  root  of  the  Indiam  hemp  of 
Canada  and  as  Bowman's  root,  and  also  as  bitter-root.  These  vulgar 
names  have  caused  considerable  confusion.  The  plant  is  a  perennial 
3  or  4  feet  high,  branched  with  slender  branches,  opposite  leaves, 
greenish-white  corolla,  follicles  hanging,  seeds  have  a  tuft  of  silky 
white  hairs  at  the  summit.  If  the  plant  grows  in  the  shade  the 
bark  is  green ;  if  exposed  to  the  sun  it  is  brown.  The  Indians 
employed  it  for  binding  on  account  of  its  fibrous  nature,  and  hence 
the  name  Indian  hemp. 
The  rhizome  is  in  the  fresh  state  8  to  18  m.m.  in  diameter  and  fre- 
quently branched,  and  is  quite  soft.    The  bark  is  quite  thick  and 
