Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
Sept  1875.  / 
Varieties, 
423 
north  latitude.  It  varies  in  height  from  a  few  inches  to  two  or  three  feet.  Usually, 
as  found  on  our  elevated  plains  and  hill-sides,  it  is  about  18  inches  high.  Its  gen- 
eral characteristics  resemble  the  common  sun-flower,  and  in  most  parts  the  common 
name  is  wild  sun-flower.  Lately  it  has  been  called  to  the  notice  of  the  profession 
by  J.  G.  Steele,  a  chemist  of  this  city,  as  a  remedy  for  the  poison  of  the  Rhus  tox- 
icodendron, and  by  Dr.  W.  P.  Gibbons,  as  a  valuable  remedial  agent  in  asthma. 
In  cases  of  poisoning  by  the  Rhus,  it  has  not,  in  my  hands,  verified  the  expecta- 
tions of  its  introducers.  It  is  a  demulcent  as  well  as  stimulant,  and  makes  an  excel- 
lent dressing  for  vesicated  surfaces.  For  burns,  the  fresh  herb  bruised  and  applied 
frequently  over  the  injured  parts,  relieves  the  pain,  soothes  and  calms  the  sufterer, 
and  often  sleep  follows  where  formerly  intense  torture  had  existed,  making  in  these 
cases  a  far  better  dressing  than  anything  I  ever  used.  It  is  one  of  the  best  remedies 
we  have  in  uterine  catarrh,  or  the  catarrh  of  the  urinary  organs.  In  subduing  the 
intense  burning  and  itching  of  vaginitis,  as  well  as  painful  priapism,  it  is  of  great 
value.  In  the  first,  the  tincture  or  fluid  extract,  of  the  strength  of  one  tablespoon- 
ful  of  water,  should  be  used  as  an  injection  three  or  four  times  a  day,  and  cloths 
should  be  soaked  in  it  and  applied  to  the  pubes,  as  hot  as  can  be  borne.  In  the 
other,  a  direct  application  should  be  made  of  the  bruised  plant,  in  the  form  of  a 
poultice,  if  possible,  changed  frequently.  In  a  few  hours  marked  beneficial  results 
will  be  noticed. 
But  it  is  in  iritis  that  its  greatest  victories  are  won,  no  matter  much  what  the  causes 
whether  gout,  rheumatism,  scrofula  or  violence.  It  seems,  in  its  effects  on  the  dis- 
eased iris,  to  be  almost  a  specific,  when  used  internally  and  externally. — Pacific  Med, 
and  Surg.  Journ.,  August,  1875. 
Eucalyptus  globulus, — The  result  of  extensive  administration  of  this  article 
in  intermittent  fever  has  hardly  corroborated  the  promise  of  early  experience  ;  but 
it  is  interesting  to  find  that  its  alleged  influence  on  malaria  has  received  some  sub- 
stantial confirmation.  Dr.  Cosson  recently  announced  that  its  eff'ect  in  Algeria  had 
been  very  marked.  Since  the  growth  of  plantations  of  this  tree  around  the  lake  of 
Fezzara,  the  malaria  which  formerly  was  intense  has  almost  disappeared. 
The  village  of  Ain  Mokra,  according  to  Captain  Ney,  furnishes  an  equally  strik- 
ing instance.  The  station  was  formerly  so  unhealthy  that  it  was  necessary  to  change 
the  French  garrison  every  five  days  on  account  of  the  number  of  men  attacked. 
Fever  has,  however,  become  much  more  rare  since  plantations  of  Eucalyptus  globulus 
have  been  made  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  and  the  sides  of  the  railway,  which  include 
altogether  60,000  trees.  A  writer  in  the  "Temps"  mentions  a  still  more  singular 
eff'ect,  namely,  that  parasites  (phylloxera,  etc.)  disappear  from  vines  growing  near 
the  eucalyptus.  The  experiment,  made  during  several  years  and  in  several  vine- 
yards, had  been  uniform  in  its  result. 
It  is  interesting,  in  connection  with  these  facts,  to  observe  that  the  leaves  of  this 
plant  contain  an  etherial  oil,  of  which  even  half-dried  leaves  contain  6  per  cent.,  and 
that  this  oil,  according  to  Gimbert,  is  a  very  powerful  antiseptic.  It  will  preserve 
blood  and  pus  as  long  as  carbolic  acid  (five  months  and  more),  and  far  longer  than 
oil  of  turpentine.  It  prevents  also  the  appearance  of  fungi  or  vibrios.  These  obser- 
vations have  received  independent  confirmation  from  Binz,  in  Germany. — Medical 
Neivs,  August,  1875,  froiri  The  Lancet,  July  3,  1875. 
