*'"jinri88r"''}  Gleanings  in  Materia  Medica.  325 
The  Cinghalese  name  is  samie  nay  an  and  the  Tamil  name  kado- 
seragam. 
European  practitioners  in  India,  from  personal  observations,  confirm 
the  truth  of  the  above  statement. 
7.  Alstonia  scholar  Is,  R.  Br. — In  1865  I  forwarded  to  England,  to 
my  friend  and  correspondent,  Mr.  P.  L.  Simmonds,  the  Editor  of  the 
Technologist,  specimens  of  a  kind  of  caoutchouc,  as  a  substitute  for 
gutta-percha. 
The  following  information  supplied  by  me  appeared  in  that  periodi- 
cal for  August,  1865 : 
"Another  substitute  for  gutta-percha,  the  milky  juice  of  the  Alstonia 
^cholaris,  a  tree  belonging  to  the  natural  order  Apocynese,  has  been 
forwarded  from  Ceylon  by  Mr.  Ondaatje ;  it  is  stated  to  possess  the 
same  properties  and  to  be  workable  as  gutta-percha.  It  readily  softens 
when  plunged  in  boiling  water,  is  soluble  in  turpentine  and  chloro- 
forui,  receives  and  retains  impressions  permanently,  and  is  adapted  for 
seals  to  documents.^^ 
The  bark  of  tliis  tree  is  thick  and  spongy.  Its  properties  as  a 
medicinal  agent  are  fully  described  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  India. 
8.  Acorus  Calamus,  Linn. — The  well-known  sweet  flag  I  merely 
notice  as  an  anthelmintic,  which  property  is  not  included  in  the 
Indian  Pharmacopoeia. 
An  infusion  of  the  rhizome  or  root-stock  given  to  young  children 
acts  effectually,  as  I  have  seen  many  such  cases  treated  among  the 
natives. 
I  hope  on  a  future  occasion  to  be  able  to  contribute  further  notes  on 
the  native  materia  medica  of  Ceylon. — Phar,  Jour,  and  Trans.,  April 
7,  1883.   
GLEANINGS  IN  MATERIA  MEDICA. 
By  the  Editor. 
Lycoperdon  giganteum,  the  giant  puff-ball,  belongs  to  the  natural 
order  of  trichagastres.  The  peridium,  or  outer  coat,  which  breaks  up 
into  warts  or  scales,  is  intimately  connected  with  the  inner  coat,  and 
the  spores  are  mostly  sessile.  All  the  various  species  of  lycoperdon 
are  produced  abundantly  in  nearly  every  country,  but  are  so  variable 
both  in  character  and  proi)erties,  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  distinguish 
them.  Dr.  E.  Thomson  recalls  attention  in  the  "Lancet'^  to  the  use 
•of  this  fungus  as  a  local  haemostatic.    He  states  that  it  forms  a  very 
