Am.  Jour.  Pharm.\ 
December,  1895.  j 
Agar-Agar  Suppositories. 
599 
fibres  are  either  clustered  or  single,  and  irregularly  distributed. 
They  are  commonly  wavy,  and  their  position  may  be  transverse  or 
oblique,  as  well  as  lengthwise  of  the  bark. 
Stellate  masses,  as  well  as  single  crystals  of  calcium  oxalate  abound 
in  all  parenchymatous  portions  of  the  bark. 
Starch  in  small  quantities  was  also  found  in  the  parenchyma. 
As  in  other  cherry  barks,  it  is  very  small  grained,  but  it  differs  from 
those  in  the  others  thus  far  studied,  in  the  fact  that  the  grains  are 
mostly  compound,  the  masses  often  consisting  of  a  dozen  or  more 
granules.  The  hilum  of  the  individual  granule  is  usually  quite  dis- 
tinct and  is  centrally  located. 
The  fact  that  the  Western  and  Eastern  forms  are  not  to  be  regarded 
as  distinct  species,  or  even  as  distinct  varieties,  does  not  preclude  the 
possibility  that  the  former  may  be  richer  in  medicinal  constituents. 
Indeed,  its  more  aromatic  taste  and  odor  suggest  that  it  is  so,  and 
that  it  might  repay  chemical  investigation. 
DESCRIPTION  OF  FIGURES. 
Fig.  /,  transverse  section  of  the  bark  of  the  Pacific  Coast  form  of  Prunus  Vir- 
giniana,  magnified  ico  diameters;  a,  periderm;  b,  sclerenchyma  fibres  in  cortex; 
c,  a  secondary  medullary  ray  ;  d,  bast  fibres  ;  e,  a  primary  medullary  ray  ;  f, 
later  formed  phloem  elements  ;  h,  cambium  tissue. 
Fig.  2,  longitudinal  section  of  the  same,  made  in  a  tangential  direction  well 
toward  the  outer  layer  of  the  bast  ;  a,  bast  fibres  ;  b,  medullary  ray  near  its 
outer  extremity  ;  c,  fissure,  with  loosely  arranged  and  much  contorted  bast 
fibres.    Magnification,  ioo  diameters. 
Fig.  J,  starch  grains  from  the  same,  magnified  1,200  diameters. 
AGAR-AGAR  AS  A  BASE  IN  GLYCERIN  SUPPOSI- 
TORIES. 
By  Frank  G.  Ryax. 
Contribution  from  the  Pharmaceutical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College 
N         of  Pharmacy. 
Some  months  ago,  E.  Lomuller  published  in  II  Giornale  di  Far- 
macia,  a  formula  directing  the  use  of  agar-agar  in  the  preparation 
of  glycerin  suppositories. 
It  was  claimed  that  this  substance  produced  a  more  satisfactory 
product  than  did  gelatin,  and,  on  that  account,  no  doubt,  the  pro- 
posed formula  has  been  reprinted  in  a  number  of  American  and 
foreign  journals.    But,  as  no  comparison  was  made  between  the 
