328 
Varieties, 
Am.  Jour.  Pharni. 
June,  1880. 
Studied  the  habits  and  history  of  the  tiee,  which,  he  says,  seeks  a  soil  inclining  to 
dryness,  but  well  watered  during  a  portion  of  the  year.  We  copy  from  his  letter  a 
few  passages  which  may  be  found  in  the  "Scientific  American"  for  February  28th: 
"  '  The  coasts  of  Northern  California  and  Oregon  would  fulfill  the  conditions  as 
to  moisture  5  the  slopes  of  the  mountains  would  probably  furnish  hilly  ground  very 
similar  to  that  occupied  by  the  tree  in  its  native  habitat ;  while  I  believe  that  the 
temperature  would  admit  of  its  cultivation  even  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Colum- 
bia. It  is  also  uncertain  as  to  how  far  any  undue  dryness  of  the  atmosphere  may 
be  overcome  by  irrigation.  The  surprising  results  already  attained  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  trees  prepare  us  to  expect  further  advances,  and  this  may  be  one  of  them 
as  naturally  as  anything  else. 
"  '  It  is  well  known  that  the  barks  produced  under  cultivation  are  much  superior 
to  the  natural  bark,  as  the  process  of  mossing  the  tree  causes  a  remarkable  develop- 
ment of  the  alkaloids  in  which  their  virtue  consists  ;  also,  that  the  cultivated  trees 
are  not  destroyed.  A  strip  is  taken  off  reaching  the  length  of  the  trunk,  and  one- 
third  its  circumference.  The  wound  is  then  dressed  with  straw  matting,  and  kept 
wet  until  the  bark  forms  anew.  The  next  year  another  strip  is  taken,  and  so  on 
indefinitely.  I  am  told  that  the  harvest  begins  when  the  tree  is  five  years  old,  but 
am  not  in  a  position  to  verify  the  statement. 
*'  ♦  I  have  calculated  roughly,  according  to  the  prices  of  land  and  labor  here,  that 
a  plantation  of  a  hundred  acres  might  be  put  in  at  less  than  ^1,000  an  acre,  cover- 
ing all  outlay,  or,  say  $1,500  to  cover  interest  and  all  contingencies.  A  yield  of 
|8,ooo  an  acre  has  been  reported  from  Indian  plantations.'  " — The  Boston  Med.  and 
Surg.  Jour.^  April  29,  :88o. 
The  Action  and  Uses  of  Hyoscyamia.— Mr.  Engledue  Prideaux,  assistant  medi- 
cal officer  at  the  Friends'  Retreat,  near  York,  presents  in  the  "Lancet,"  October  11, 
1879,  an  elaborate  paper  based  upon  very  extensive  experience  in  the  use  of  the 
drug,  of  which  the  following,  taken  from  the  "  Medical  News  and  Abstract,"  Jan., 
1880,  is  a  summary  : 
1.  That  in  most  cases  of  mania,  or  where  there  exists  great  excitement  of  an 
aggressive  and  destructive  character,  or  rapidity  of  movement  and  speech,  the  use 
of  the  drug  is  the  most  eft'ectual  and  rapid  means  of  exercising  that  form  of  restraint 
which  has  been  termed  "chemical  restraint."  * 
2.  That  in  cases  of  acute  mania  it  will  produce  sleep  and  quietude  when  all  other 
drugs  have  failed,  and  is  one  of  the  most  rapid  and  reliable  narcotics  we  possess. 
3.  That  in  the  treatment  of  the  epileptic  status  in  epileptic  mania,  it  diminishes  the 
number,  frequency  and  severity  of  the  attacks,  especially  if  its  administration  be 
extended  over  some  time. 
4.  That  in  delusional  insanity,  especially  the  mania  of  suspicion  and  other  forms 
of  mania  where  the  delusions  are  varying  and  changeable,  it  has  a  decided  action  in 
producing  such  an  altered  condition  of  the  cerebral  status  that  a  condition  which 
has  been  termed  "  physiological  mania  "  results,  and  this  so  eclipses  the  former  delu- 
sions and  hallucinations  that  they  are  forgotten,  and  the  mind  becomes  clear;  while 
if  the  subjection  to  the  Influence  of  the  drug  be  continued,  it  ultimately  leads,  under 
