98 
SAUCY BARK. 
a great moral evil, and many instances of its fatal effects 
narrated. 
The bark is in pieces which are concavo-convex, from 
four to eight inches in length, and half an inch in thick- 
ness. It has an astringent taste, and is devoid of odour. It 
has the sp. gr. of 1.054. It consists of the bark proper, and 
epidermis. The latter is of a dull red colour, and is cha- 
racterized by large veins, deep fissures, and abundant 
whitish, warty excrescences. 
On breaking transversely, and examining the bark, it is 
found to consist of longitudinal and perfectly cylindrical 
fibres, closely compressed, and somewhat lighter in colour 
than the portion encompassing them. 
The part directly beneath the epidermis has a reddish 
hue, which gradually becomes less deep, until it is blended 
with the fawn-colored portion near the under surface. 
The powder, when snuffed up the nostrils, produces vio- 
lent sneezing, accompanied with much distress about the 
head and great contraction of the pupils. 
No detailed and accurate account of its effects on the hu- 
man economy has as yet come under the observation of the 
writer, but it is said to produce vomiting, redness and gla- 
zing of the eyes,and loss of the power of contracting the mus- 
cles throughout the body, so that, when the poison has fairly 
commenced its action on the system, the sufferer is incapa- 
ble of standing or walking, and the head rolls heavily about 
the breast and shoulders. 
On inferior animals, a decoction of the Saucy Bark caused 
alternate dilation and contraction of the pupils, appearance 
of delirium, violent retching, vomiting, symptoms of teta- 
nus, and finally, death. 
Chemical Examination. 
An infusion was prepared from the contused bark, which, 
when filtered was clear and of a red colour. With a solu- 
tion of gelatin, tannic acid was indicated. The presence 
