Amjl\yT\marm' }  Brazilian  Batiputa  Berries.  517 
Lin.  W  hile  the  desiccated  preparations  of  the  suprarenal  gland  were 
found  to  contain  the  correct  proportion  of  adrenalin ;  this,  the  author 
stated,  did  not  apply  in  the  case  of  preparations  obtained  by  extract- 
ing the  glands,  whether  intended  for  injection  or  not,  and  none  of 
the  commercial  samples  of  this  class  of  suprarenal  preparations  con- 
tained the  amount  of  adrenalin  which  should  have  been  normally 
present.  This  he  ascribes  principally  to  the  lack  of  sufficient  precau- 
tions in  carrying  out  the  various  manipulations  entailed  in  extracting 
the  glands,  especially  to  the  use  of  a  solvent  not  sufficiently  acid  to 
dissolve  the  adrenalin  in  the  glands.  Finally,  M.  Tiffeneau  urged 
the  need  for  establishing  the  standard  chemical  tests  for  the  evalu- 
ation of  each  of  the  various  organo-therapeutic  products  used  in 
medicine,  and,  in  the  absence  of  a  satisfactory  chemical  test,  of  as- 
certaining a  reliable  method  of  physiological  assay.  Should  it  be 
found  that  these  means  are  inadequate,  he  submitted  that  the  manu- 
facture of  this  class  of  products  should  be  placed  under  efficient 
supervision  by  controlling  the  various  stages  in  the  process  of  manu- 
facture, or  that  such  establishments  should  be  licensed. 
BRAZILIAN  BATIPUTA  BERRIES.* 
By  Consul  C.  R.  Cameron,  Pernambuco. 
Batiputa  berries  are  the  product  of  the  sandy,  rolling,  coastal 
regions  of  the  States  of  Parahyba  do  Norte,  Rio  Grande  do  Norte, 
and  Pernambuco,  Brazil,  where  they  are  prized  for  their  oil,  which  is 
said  to  be  equal  to  the  best  olive  oil  and  is  used  for  about  the  same 
purposes  as  the  latter,  having  both  food  and  medicinal  value.  Bati- 
puta berries  are  of  two  varieties,  wild  and  domestic.  Wild  plants  are 
said  to  average  about  100' to  the  acre,  but  the  distribution  is  very  ir- 
regular, being  dependent  upon  natural  seeding.  The  shrubs  are  only 
7  or  8  feet  high,  however,  so  that  they  would  doubtless  flourish  if 
planted  as  close  as  10  feet  apart,  or,  say,  400  or  more  to  the  acre. 
Probably  most  of  the  land  on  which  the  batiputa  shrub  is  found 
is  owned  by  the  State  governments,  but  considerable  tracts  have  come 
into  private  possession,  and  these  are  generally  valued  at  from  $1  to 
$10  per  acre.    Public  lands,  however,  may  usually  be  obtained  by 
^Reprinted  from  Commerce  Reports,  June,  1921. 
