THE  RHATANT  ROOT  OF  PARA. 
329 
leaving  platinum  behind  of  a  bright  whiteness  and  in  a  compact 
condition. 
The  author  particularly  recommends  this  process  for  the 
preparation  of  mirrors  for  microscopes,  as  well  as  for  astronomi- 
cal purposes. —  Wittst.  Vierteljahres  ScL,  1870,  39 — 41,  from 
Jahresb.  d.  pliysih.  Ver.  zu  Fraiihfurt  1867 — 68. 
^  ^   J.  M.  M. 
ON  THE  RHATANY  ROOT  OF  PARA. 
By  Dk.  F.  A,  Fluckiger. 
In  a  thesis  Etude  comparee  sur  le  Genre  Krameria  et  les 
racines  qu'il  fournit  a  la  medecine,"  presented  by  Cotton,  in 
1868,  to  the  Paris  Ecole  de  Pharmacie,  he  describes,  under  the 
name  of  rhatanhia  des  Antilles,  a  root,  the  origin  of  which  he  re- 
ferred to  Krameria  Ixina,  which  yields  the  Savanilla  rhatany.  Dr. 
FlUckiger  has  examined  Cotton's  root,  and  found  it  identical  with 
the  rhatany  described  by  Berg,  in  1865,  under  the  name  of 
Brazil  rhatany.  In  larger  quantities  the  officinal  Payta  rhatany 
has  a  red,  the  Savanilla  a  violet  and  this  Para  rhatany  (so-called 
because  exported  from  Para)  a  grey-brown  color.  The  latter, 
like  the  Savanilla  rhatany,  is  colored  blue-black  by  sulphate  of 
iron  ;  it  possesses,  in  comparison  to  the  other  two  roots,  a  re- 
markable elasticity  ;  the  transverse  fissures  frequently  have 
sharp  turns  and  occasionally  surround  the  root,  and  some  roots 
have  occasionally  numerous  globular  suberous  warts  two  to  three 
millimetres  in  diameter.  These  external  marks,  particularly  if 
not  merely  a  few  pieces  are  examined,  are  entirely  sufficient  for 
recognizing  the  Para  rhatany. 
The  author  sums  up  his  remarks  as  follows  : 
1.  There  are  at  present  in  commerce  three  different  kinds  of 
rhatany,  which  are  best  named  after  their  principal  ports  of  ex- 
portation, Payta,  Savanilla  and  Para. 
2.  The  first  two  kinds  are  described  according  to  origin  and 
characters  in  every  modern  work  on  pharmacognosy. 
3.  The  Para  root  was  first  described  by  Berg,  as  radix  ratan- 
hise*  brasiliensis,  by  Cotton  as  rhatany  of  the  Antilles. 
*  Dr.  F.  argues  that  ratanhia  is  more  proper  than  ratanha.  According 
to  the  distinguished  botanist,  Richard  Spruce,  rattani,  in  the  language 
of  the  Quichuas,  means  I  pack,  tie  &c.,  and  ratanhia  is  probably  derived 
from  the  same  root.    The  Spanish  Pharmacopoeia  of  18C5  writes  ratania. 
