less was its property of forming the blue compound, with a solution of iodine, destroyed.

If in time the starch should be converted into sugar, I think its tendency to crystallize would be completely destroyed by the long boiling required.-Pharm. Journ.

ART. XV.—MEDICAL PROPERTIES OF THE FEVILLEA CORDIFOLIA.

BY W. HAMILTON, M. D., Plymouth.

AMONG the other indigenous productions of our West Indian colonies, which the superior attractions of the cane have hitherto kept in unmerited obscurity, the Fevillea cordifolia, or Antidote Coccoon,* claims a prominent place from the value of its medicinal properties.

This is a climbing plant, frequent in waste lands and on the skirts of woods, covering the trees and bushes like ivy, and producing small yellow flowers, which are succeeded by a hard three-celled pome, resembling a calabash, and inclosing about a dozen large round compressed seeds, which, on attaining maturity, drop out through a circular opening in the fruit. These seeds are known by the name of coccoons, and, from the quantity of oil which they contain, are employed by the negroes as a substitute for candles; a number being stuck for this purpose on a long skewer, and the uppermost coccoon ignited.

The whole plant abounds in a bitter principle, which might, no doubt, be advantageously substituted for some

*This production was briefly noticed in vol. xv., page 236 of this Journal. Our readers will now have an opportunity of being further acquainted with its history.-Ed. Am. Journ. Phnrm.

of the more costly bitters of the shops; and this bitter principle obtained, in the present improved state of chemical science, in a detached and portable form. Popular opinion accords to the plant itself the merit of being antisyphilitic, emmenagogue, and stomachic. But the bitter principie which pervades all the other parts of the plant, presents itself in a still more concentrated form in the seeds or coccoons, which have, in consequence, been chiefly, if not exclusively, employed in the rude practice of our colonies.

Such is the estimation in which they are held by the Spanish inhabitants of South America, to whom they are known by the name of avila, or avilla, that they are reputed by them to be worth their weight in gold; and in Brazil, the oil obtained from them by expression is regarded as a sovereign remedy for those rheumatic pains which result from exposure to the cold and dews of night.

The tincture is prepared by macerating eight or ten of these coccoons, scraped and bruised fine in a mortar, in a pint of spirit for two or three days, shaking the bottle containing them frequently, and diluting the tincture with an equal quantity of water. This tincture, in doses of a tablespoonful, is a good stomachic, and counteracts the effects of poisonous fish. According to a numerous series of experiments made by Mr. Drapier, of which an account may be found in the nineteenth number of the Quarterly Journal of Science, p. 192, these coccoons are most powerful antidotes to vegetable poisons; and he has found their external application to poisoned wounds equally efficacious.

Of the efficacy of the tincture, prepared in the manner just mentioned, as a hydragogue in the cure of anasarca, a striking case was communicated to the Columbian Magazine, for July, 1798, by a gentleman who had an opportunity of witnessing its effect upon a female domestic of his own, who had, as he informs us, "been pronounced by the medical gentlemen in Spanish Town, in a dropsical state, and every thing administered that they thought necessary

in such a case, but all in vain; for, on my subsequent removal to Kingston, I found the swelling much increased in her face, legs, and thighs, with a puffiness in her belly. A planter, from Above Rocks, breakfasted with me; I called the girl to get some water; he was alarmed on seeing her condition, and advised the use of the coccoon or antidote, observing that he had made a perfect cure of a girl in the same state. I proceeded according to his directions, and with the like success; it is now eighteen months since, and thanks be to God she is now in perfect health. I therefore think myself bound to publish the same for the benefit of my fellow creatures."

Such is the unvarnished narrative of the anonymous correspondent of the magazine, which is not the less entitled to consideration, because it comes unsanctioned by the impress of professional authority, and unauthenticated by the celebrity of a name. To the medical reader, the omission of the manner of exhibition is immaterial, since his own experience and judgment in similar cases must be sufficient to guide him, while his professional caution will secure him. against the danger of its rash administration.

It becomes, however, worth the trouble of enquiry to determine upon what the hydragogue action of the coccoons depends, and whether the active constituent does not admit of being obtained apart from the rest. By the aid of Chemistry, modern practice is enabled, in most cases, to reduce the bulk, while it augments the activity of the dose. This is especially manifested in the cases of cinchona and opium-in both of which art has succeeded in detaching the active principle from its inert or noxious adjuncts, and presenting it to the patient in a form, if not attractive, at least exciting the smallest possible amount of disgust.

Taken to a larger extent than that mentioned, the tincture operates as an emnetic and a purgative. In dropsical cases a wineglassful should be taken every morning fasting, and followed by moderate exercise before breakfast. An in

fusion in Madeira wine is also a good stomachic. The expressed oil of the coccoon is good for burning, and may perhaps prove useful as an internal remedy in the same cases in which the tincture has been recommended; and from partaking of the same bitter taste with the seeds, it is probable that the same active principle may be found to pervade the whole plant.-Pharm. Journ.

ART. XVI.-NOTICES OF SOME RARE KINDS OF RHUBARB WHICH HAVE RECENTLY APPEARED IN ENGLISH COMMERCE.

BY JONATHAN PEREIRA, M. D., F. R. S.

IN laying before the scientific Committee of this Society* some observations on several kinds of rhubarb, not frequently met with in English commerce, I take this opportunity of stating, that I am indebted for the specimens to Mr. Faber, who has on this, as well as on several other occasions, very kindly aided my inquiries, in Pharmacological Natural History, by specimens and commercial information of an interesting and useful kind.

I propose this evening to draw the attention of the Committee to four kinds of rhubarb, which are respectively denominated Canton stick rhubarb, Bucharian rhubarb, Siberian rhubarb, and Himalayan rhubarb.

1. Canton Stick Rhubarb.

Two kinds of rhubarb it is well known, are imported from Canton, the one called China, East India, or halftrimmed rhubarb; the other termed trimmed, Dutchtrimmed, or entirely-trimmed rhubarb.

*London Pharmaceutical Journal.

I have recently met with a third sort, corresponding with neither of the kinds just alluded to, and which, on account of its resemblance to the English stick variety, I shall call Canton stick rhubarb. It is only recently that this sort has appeared in the market. Five cases of it were imported from Canton, and were sold during the last year by public sale, at eight pence per pound.

All the pieces but one of my sample, are cylindrical, about two inches long, from half to three quarters of an inch in diameter, and weigh each on the average about 100 grains. The piece to which I have referred as forming the exception, is shaped like a flattened cylinder, cut obliquely at one end; its greatest length is about two and a half inches, its greatest breadth two inches and a quarter, while its depth is about one inch, and its weight is about two ounces. Mr. Faber, from whom I received it, tells me, that on the examination of a quantity of Canton stick rhubarb, he found several such pieces.

Most of the pieces are decorticated. These resemble English stick rhubarb in their texture and colour, except that they are, perhaps, somewhat paler, the taste is bitter, and somewhat astringent, but considerably less so than that of good, half-trimmed, Canton rhubarb. By chewing it, little or no grittiness is perceptible.

This kind of rhubarb is probably obtained from the root branches of the plant which yields the usual Canton rhubarb.

2. Bucharian Rhubarb.

By most writers the term Bucharian rhubarb is employed synonymously with that of Russian rhubarb. But there has long been known in Russian commerce a rhubarb called Bucharian, which is not under the control of the crown, and which, on account of its cheapness, is used in veterinary medicine. Grassmann, an apothecary at St. Petersburgh, considers it to be the rhubarb which, according to Pallas, is obtained from Rheum undulatum, and which, in the