Part 6

Botanical Description.--A tree, 30-40° high, well known in the islands. Leaves ternate; leaflets 4-5' long, half-ovate, obtuse, entire, stiff and downy, the middle one elliptical. Flowers in panicles. Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla much longer than the calyx, 5 greenish petals, linear and curved downwards. Nectary a cylindrical tube attached to the corolla for half its length, mouth 10-toothed, containing 10 sessile anthers. Style somewhat longer than the stamens. Stigma 5-parted. Fruit about size and form of a small apple, thick, brown, pericarp indehiscent, 5 or more one-seeded compartments.

Habitat.--Grows in all parts of the islands, commonly along the roads.

_Carapa Moluccensis_, Lam. (_Xylocarpus granatum_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Tabigi_, _Nigi_, _Kalumpang sa lati_, Tag.; _Migi_, Pam.

Uses.--The seeds contain a yellow oil, bitter and astringent, with a characteristic odor, having a taste somewhat resembling the odor. In decoction they are used for diarrhoea and dysentery, on account, doubtless, of the tannin they contain. The dose is 1-2 seeds dried, pounded and infused with 200 grams of sweetened water.

The bark, also bitter, is said to be useful in fevers.

In America they extract an oil from the species of the _C. Guianensis_, Aubl., with which the negroes anoint themselves to keep away stinging insects. Wood soaked in this oil is also proof against insects.

Botanical Description.--This tree, 20° high, grows in swampy districts. Leaves opposite, abruptly pinnate. Two pairs of wedge-shaped leaflets, entire and glabrous. Petiole very short. Calyx inferior, 4-5-toothed. Corolla, 4-5 concave petals, slightly notched at the end. Nectary notched, ovate, 8-9-toothed. No filaments. Anthers equal in number to the teeth of the nectary and inserted between them. Ovary very thick, globose. Stigma shield-shaped. Drupe globose, resembling a very large orange, 5 chambers, each containing 1, 2 or more seeds, convex on one side and concave on the other, angular and much crowded. Testa hard and porous.

Habitat.--Common throughout the Archipelago.

_Cedrela Toona_, Roxb. (_C. odorata_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Kalantas_, Tag., Pam.; _Lanigpa_, Vis.

Uses.--The infusion of the flowers is antispasmodic. The trunk bark is an excellent astringent, and Dr. Waitz recommends it in extract as a treatment for infantile diarrhoea, for which I also have found it very useful. Blume says that it contains marked antispasmodic virtues, and Dr. G. Kennedy confirms it. Other physicians of India, among them Ros and Newton, have recommended the bark as a substitute for cinchona, given dry in doses of 30 grams.

Infusion.--

Bark dry, pounded 30 grams. Water 150 grams.

Filter and add:

Syrup of cinnamon 20 grams.

Dose.--Several dessert-spoonfuls a day.

The powdered bark is very useful as an application to indolent ulcers which it instantly deodorizes; like powdered quinine it is used in the treatment of superficial gangrene.

Botanical Description.--A large tree. Leaves odd-pinnate. Leaflets oval, lanceolate, acuminate, entire, glabrous, 5-6 pairs. Flowers yellow, in terminal panicles. Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla, 5 oblong petals. Stamens 5, free, inserted on the apex of a disk. Ovaries sessile, 5 many-ovuled cells. Style short. Stigma on a disk. Seed vessel coriaceous, 5 compartments, septicidal, 5-valved. Seeds compressed, pendulous, prolonged in a membranous wing.

Habitat.--Very common in the islands.

CELASTRACEÆ.

Staff-Tree Family.

_Celastrus paniculata_, Willd. (_C. alnifolia_, DC.; _C. Rothiana_, Roem.; _Diosma serrata_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Bilogo_, Tag.

Uses.--I am not acquainted with the medicinal uses of this plant in the Philippines. In India, by means of a primitive system of distillation, they extract from the seeds a dark-colored oil of empyreumatic odor, which under the name of Oleum nigrum was once proclaimed by Dr. Herklots as the sovereign remedy for beriberi.

This oil in doses of 10-15 drops a day is a very powerful stimulant, the action of which is manifested by profuse perspiration several hours after its administration. Malcolmson reports that it has given him good results in several cases of beriberi, particularly in recent cases and those in which nervous and paralytic symptoms predominated. In Concan, the juice of the leaves is given in doses of 30 grams as an antidote for opium. The bruised seeds made into a paste with cow urine are used locally in treatment of itch. They are also used in the treatment of leprosy, gout, rheumatism, and other diseases which according to their medical theories, are derived from "cold humors." For these purposes they give the seeds internally, beginning with one and increasing daily until 50 are taken. At the same time they make external applications of the oil or of another compound prepared in the following way:

Place in an open pot with one opening, seeds of _C. paniculata_, cloves, benzoin, nutmeg and mace. The pot having been previously heated, is covered with another, inverted over the opening. On the sides of the latter a thick black oil condenses which Herklots very appropriately named _Oleum nigrum_.

Botanical Description.--A climbing shrub, 6-9° high, without spines. Leaves 6-7' long by 5' broad, alternate, petiolate, entire, glabrous, half-ovate. Flowers small and paniculate. Calyx, 5 divisions. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens 5, inserted in a disc. Anthers oblong. Ovary 3-celled. Stigma 3-lobulate. Style short. Seed vessel the size of a pea, globose, 3-celled, loculicidal, with pulpy seeds.

Habitat.--Tayabas, Laguna, Ilocos North, San Mateo, Albay. Flowers in April.

RHAMNACEÆ.

Buckthorn Family.

_Zizyphus Jujuba, Lam._ (_Rhamnus Jujuba_, L. & Blanco; _Z. Mauritania_, Wall.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Manzanitas_, Sp.-Fil.; _Jujube Fruit_, Eng.

Uses.--The small fruit known commonly as _manzanitas_ has an agreeable taste, although ordinarily offered for sale before they are quite ripe. They are among the most popular dainties at the fairs and festivals in the provinces of Manila and are the only part of the plant used in medicine. They possess emollient qualities and are official in the codex. They enter in the composition of the so-called pectoral remedies (composed of equal parts of figs, dates, Corinthian raisins and manzanitas).

Botanical Description.--A shrub, with hooked thorns, leaves alternate, petiolate, coriaceous, entire, 3-nerved, 2 thorny stipules, one of them crooked. Flowers small, greenish, axillary. Calyx, 5 oval divisions. Corolla, 5 petals. Stamens 5, free. Ovary bilocular, situated on the disc. Styles 2-3, divergent; small papillary stigmas. Drupe pulpy, globose, resembling a crab-apple in size and taste, enclosing a hard, 2-celled seed.

Habitat.--Common in all parts of the islands.

_Rhamnus Wightii_, W. & Arn. (_Ceanothus Wightiana_, Wall.; _R. Carolianus_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Kabatiti_, Tag.

Uses.--The dried trunk bark is the part employed in medicine. Hooper analyzed it in 1888 and found a crystalline principle (0.47%), a brown resin (0.85), a red resin (1.15), a bitter principle (1.23), sugar, starch, calcium, oxalate, etc.

As the active principles exist in the resins, an alcoholic tincture of the latter is the best preparation for administration. In India it is used as a tonic and an astringent.

Botanical Description.--A small tree that grows near the sea coast. Trunk 9-12° high, straight, many-branched, devoid of thorns. Leaves alternate, ovate, acutely serrate, glabrous, short-petioled. Flowers greenish-white, axillary, perfect. Calyx 5-toothed, inversely conical. Corolla, 5 petals, smaller than the teeth of the calyx, oval, without claws, notched at the apex. Disc fleshy, smooth, slightly concave. Stamens 5, hidden within the petals. Filaments flattened. Anthers rounded. Ovary fleshy, inserted at the bottom of the calyx tube. Style short. Stigmas 3, divergent. Fruit oval, its base adherent to the calyx, 3 seeds.

Habitat.--Batangas. Blooms in July and October.

ANACARDIACEÆ.

Cashew Family.

_Mangifera Indica_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Manga._

Uses.--The dried and pulverized kernel of the seed is used as an anthelmintic in doses of 1 1/2-2 grams both in India and Brazil. The same preparation is used in the Philippines in the treatment of dysentery and diarrhoea and its effect is doubtless due to the large quantity of tannin it contains. It is administered as follows: The pounded kernels of 20-25 seeds are brought to a boil in 2 bottles (sic) of water. When the liquid has evaporated a third, it is removed from the fire, cooled, decanted, and again placed on the fire after adding three to four hundred grams of sugar. This time it is allowed to boil till reduced to one bottle. The dose is 50-60 grams 2-3 times a day. Incisions in the trunk exude a brownish resin which solidifies in the air, is slightly acrid, bitter, dissolves in alcohol and partially in water. In Malabar it is given internally in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery, mixing it with white of egg and opium. But the curative value of the combination is more likely due to the albumen and opium than to the resin. Dissolved in lemon juice it is a useful application in the itch. The trunk bark is astringent and is employed in decoction as a wash for ulcers and eczema and as an injection in leucorrhoea.

The fruit is one of the most highly prized in the Philippines, and resident Europeans are able to eat large quantities of it without ill effects unless the fruit is over-ripe, in which case it often causes transient diarrhoea, which should be treated with a mild purge.

In Mauritius the following compound powder is used in dysentery:

Dried slices of manga fruit 30 grams. Dried manga kernels 60 grams. Plantain seeds 15 grams. Dried ginger 8 grams. Gum arabic 15 grams. Pulverize each ingredient separately; add powdered candy sugar 30 grams.

Mix.

Dose.--For an adult one dessert-spoonful every 4 hours; may be given in cauge or arrowroot.

The flowers, testa and bark are, in Hindoo therapeutics, considered "cold," and "astringent," and are used especially in diarrhoea. In certain throat affections the Hindoos employ the burning leaves for inhalation. They also use the gum made by evaporating the juice of the ripe fruit, as a confection and an antiscorbutic. Dr. Linguist recommends the bark as a local astringent in uterine, intestinal and pulmonary hemorrhage and employs the following:

_Fluid Extract_.--

Fluid extract of manga bark 10 grams. Water 120 grams.

Mix. Dose, 1 teaspoonful every 1 or 2 hours.

Botanical Description.--A noble tree, 30° to 40° high, dome-like or rotund in outline. Leaves dark green, lustrous, alternate, lanceolate, entire; short petioles. Flowers racemose, in verticillate panicles. Calyx, 4, 5 or 6 sepals. Corolla white, fragrant, 4, 5 or 6 petals. Stamens 5, of which perhaps 1, 2 or 3 are fertile. Style on one side of the ovary. Stigma simple. Fruit large, reniform, fleshy, yellow when ripe; contains a large, flattened, reniform pit. Blooms from January even till June. The natives force the fruit by building fires under the trees when but little air is stirring.

Habitat.--Common throughout the islands.

_Anacardium occidentale_, L. (_Cassuvium reniforme_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Kasuy_, Tag.; _Caskew Nut_, Eng.

Uses.--The pericarp of the nut contains an essential oil which is very irritant and used by the Hindoos as a vesicant; it severely blisters the lips and tongues of imprudent persons who break the nut without taking the precaution of cleansing it of the oil before opening it. In addition to the oil called _cardol_, the pericarp contains an especial acid _anacardic_, a little tannin and ammonia. Cardol (C_21_H_31_O_2_) is an oleaginous, yellow liquid very unstable, neutral, soluble in alcohol and ether, insoluble in water, volatile, and vesicant if applied to the skin. "Anacardic" acid is white, crystalline, odorless, with a burning, aromatic taste. It melts at 26° and decomposes at 200° forming a colorless oil; it is not vesicant, burns with a dark flame, and has the odor of rancid oil. A tincture of the pericarp has been made (1 part to 10 of alcohol) and given internally as a vermifuge in doses of 2-10 drops. Cardol, according to some authors, does not exercise a vesicant action in the gastro-intestinal canal, because it is not dissolved by the gastro-intestinal juices; I am sure, however, that I have seen a choleraic diarrhoea brought on by swallowing, in fun, the pericarp of one nut and a half. Cardol is eliminated by the urine.

The kernel is edible and has a very agreeable taste when roasted. By expression it yields a sweet, yellowish oil, density 0.916.

The trunk exudes a gum resin in masses varying in color from red to yellow.

The fleshy part, called the fruit, is edible but contains a certain quantity of cardol not only evidenced by the odor but by the smarting of the mouth and throat after eating. It is very juicy and the expressed liquid is fermented in Bombay and distilled to make a very weak alcohol which sells for the very low price of 4 annas (5 cents gold) a gallon. This alcohol is again distilled and a stronger obtained which sells for 1 1/2 rupees a gallon. The Portuguese of India make a sort of wine from the fermented juice of the fruit, which, like the weak alcohol we have mentioned, is a well-known diuretic and is used as a liniment.

The gum resin of the trunk contains 90% of anacardic acid and 10% cardol. Wood soaked in it is preserved from the ravages of insects, especially of white ants, for which purpose it is used by bookbinders also. Therapeutically it is used externally in leprosy, old ulcers and to destroy corns, but on account of its rubefacient and vesicant qualities it is necessary to use it cautiously.

Botanical Description.--A tree, 18° high, with leaves cuneiform, glabrous, stiff, short-petioled. Flowers polygamous in terminal panicles. Calyx with 5 erect segments, imbricated, caducous. Corolla, 5 linear, lanceolate petals, curved and imbricated. Stamens 8-10, all fertile. Filaments united to one another and to the disc. Ovary heart-shaped. Style filiform and eccentric. Stigma defective. Ovule solitary. Fruit a reniform nut enclosed in a pulpy pyriform body, formed by the matured disc and extremity of the peduncle. Seed reniform, testa membranous.

Habitat.--Common throughout the Archipelago. Blooms in February.

_Odina Wodier_, Roxb.

Nom. Vulg.--_Amugis_, Tag. and Vis.

Uses.--The bark is very astringent and in decoction is used for chronic ulcers. In India Dr. Kirkpatrick has used it as a lotion in impetigo. It has also given good results as a gargle in affections of the pharynx and buccal cavity.

The trunk exudes a gum called in India "kanni ki gond," an article of commerce. It is almost odorless and has a disagreeable taste. It is only partially soluble in water, forming a viscid mucilage. It is used in the treatment of contusions and sprains and is edible when mixed with cocoanut milk.

Botanical Description.--A tree, with leaves bunched at the extremities of the branches, oblong, oval, acuminate, odd-pinnate, 3-4 pairs of opposite leaflets. Flowers greenish-white, polygamous, in terminal panicles. Calyx gamosepalous, 4 rounded lobules. Corolla, 4 imbricated petals. Stamens 8, free. Ovary 4-parted. Pistillate flowers; ovary sessile, oblong, unilocular. Style 4-parted, thick. Drupe oblong, compressed, unicellular. Testa hard, with 1 non-albuminous kernel.

Habitat.--San Mateo.

MORINGEÆ.

_Moringa pterygosperma_, Gaertn. (_M. oleifera_, Lamk.; _M. poligona_, DC.; _Guilandina Moringa_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Malungay_, _Kamalungay_, _Kalungay_, Tag.; _Dool_, _Malungit_, Vis. and Pam.; _Horse Radish Tree_, Indo-Eng.

Uses.--The root is vesicant and the Filipinos bruise it and use it for sinapisms. I have often observed, however, that it is quite painful used in this way. Dr. Waitz states that it is a good plan to add a few drops of the root juice to mustard sinapisms, a proceeding which seems to me superfluous, especially in the case of children as he advises it.

The Bengal pharmacopoeia contains the following official preparations:

_Compound Spirit_.--

Small pieces of moringa root } Orange peel } aa 600 grams. Nutmeg 20 grams. Spirit of wine 4 1/2 liters. Water 1 liter.

Mix and distil 4 liters.

Dose.--8-30 cc. as a stimulant and diuretic.

_Compound Infusion_.--

Moringa root, small pieces, bruised } Mustard seed } aa 30 grams. Boiling water 1/2 liter. Let stand 2 hours, filter and add compound spirit. 30 grams.

Dose.--30-60 grams a day, as a strong stimulant.

The expressed seeds yield a fixed oil, which is irritating and in my opinion should not be used internally.

The green pods, the flowers and the tender shoots of the leaves are eaten stewed. The juice of the leaves is given internally in India, as an emetic, in doses of 30 grams.

Botanical Description.--A well-known tree, 5-6 meters high. Leaves 3-pinnate, their terminal divisions odd-pinnate. Leaflets oval, glabrous, entire. Calyx, 5 unequal petaloid segments, imbricated, caducous. Corolla white, 5 unequal petals. Stamens inserted on the border of a disc, unequal, 5 opposite the petals bearing anthers, 5 alternate without anthers. Anthers dorsal, unilocular. Ovary pedunculate, lanceolate, unilocular, with many ovules in 2 series, inserted on the parietal placentæ. Fruit a pod terminating in a beak, 3-valved. Seeds numerous, very large, winged, embedded in a spongy substance.

Habitat.--Common throughout the islands. Blooms in November.

LEGUMINOSÆ. (PAPILIONACEÆ.)

Pulse Family.

_Agati grandiflora_, Desv. (_Sesbania grandiflora_, Pers.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Katuray_, Tag.

Uses.--The flowers are edible. They and the leaves are purgative and are given in decoction for this purpose, 30-40 grams to 200 of water. The juice of the flowers is a popular remedy in India, for migraine and coryza. The trunk bark is bitter and tonic.

Botanical Description.--A tree, 4-6 meters high, with drooping limbs; leaves long, very narrow, abruptly pinnate; many caducous leaflets, linear, elliptical. Flowers large, white, fragrant, in axillary racemes. Calyx bell-shaped with two indistinct lips. Corolla papilionaceous, white. Standard oval, a slight notch at the apex. Wings almost as large as the keel which is strongly arched. Stamens 10, diadelphous. Anthers uniform. Style and stamens equally long. Stigma a small head. Pod 1-2° long, linear, 4-sided, containing many oval seeds, separated by filamentous partitions.

Habitat.--Grows in all sections of Luzon and Panay.

_Abrus precatorius_, L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Saga_, _Sagamamin_, _Bangati_, Tag.; _Bangati Gikosgikos_, Vis.; _Kanaasaga_, Pam.; _Bugayon_, Iloc.; _Jequiriti_, _Prayerbeads_, Eng.

Uses.--The part of the plant most important in therapeutics is the seed, the size of a small pea, bright red with a black spot, hard and shining. The Filipino children use them to make rosaries and other decorations. In the distant past the Filipinos used these seeds to weigh gold, a practice followed even to-day by the Hindoos. The famous Susrutas, author of the "Ayur Veda," recommends them internally for nervous diseases; modern therapeutics, however, limits their use to one disease, though that is frequent and stubborn enough, namely chronic granular conjunctivitis.

Some physicians state that these seeds are poisonous and others the contrary, but the fact that they are used as food among the poor classes of Egypt, demonstrates their harmlessness in the digestive tract at least; when introduced into the circulation they undoubtedly exercise a toxic effect. We have already mentioned that their use is limited nowadays to the therapeutics of the eye; the decoction of the seeds known in Europe under the name of "Jaqueriti"--so named in Brazil--produces a purulent inflammation of the healthy conjunctiva and it is precisely this counter-irritant effect which makes it useful in chronic granular conjunctivitis, the persistence of which has defied the most heroic measures of therapeutics. The French oculist, Dr. de Wecker, was the first to employ jequirity for this purpose, in the form of a 24 hours' maceration of the seeds, 10 grams to 500 grams of water. It is necessary to use a product recently prepared and with this several applications a day are made. It is now known that the inflammation of the healthy conjunctiva is not caused by germ-life contained in the solution but by an inorganic ferment discovered by Bruylans and Venneman and named jequiritin; they state that it is produced during the germination of the seeds or of the cells in the powdered seeds. Warden and Waddell, of Calcutta, have isolated an essential oil, an acid named "ábric" and an amorphous substance called abrin, obtained by precipitation with alcohol from a watery infusion of the pulverized seeds. Its action is identical with that of "jequiritin."

The infusion appears to possess considerable value as a stimulating application to indolent ulcers.

The root is a good substitute for licorice, is emollient and has an agreeable taste. The extract is useful in catarrhal diseases of the bronchi and in dysuria. The leaves contain the same properties as the root and an extract prepared from them is used as a substitute for licorice.

Botanical Description.--A vine, with leaves opposite, abruptly pinnate, a stylet taking the place of the terminal leaflet. Leaflets linear, entire, glabrous, tipped with a small point. Common petiole with 2 awl-shaped stipules at the base. Flowers in small racemes. Calyx gamosepalous, caducous, 4-5 short teeth. Corolla papilionaceous, wings horizontal. Stamens 9, monadelphous with bilocular anthers. Style very short. Stigma globose. Pod 4-5 cm. long, truncate at the ends, with 5-6 red seeds, each with a black spot.

Habitat.--Common in all mountainous regions of the islands. Grows near houses and roads.

_Mucuna pruriens_, DC. (_M. prurita_, Hook.; _M. utilis_, Wall.; _Dolichos pruriens_, L.; _Carpopogon pruriens_, Roxb.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Nipay_, _Lipay_, Vis.

Uses.--The pods are official as an anthelmintic in the Pharmacopoeia of India. They are used in the form of an electuary triturated to the proper consistency with honey or syrup. The dose for adults is one soupspoonful, and for children a teaspoonful, given every morning for 3-4 consecutive days. The last day a purge is given to expel the lumbricoids.

Botanical Description.--A vine with ternate leaves. Flowers red, keel larger than the standard and wings. Pods about as thick as the little finger, lacking transverse grooves, curved in the form of the letter f, covered with bright red down, which causes an unendurable itching. They are divided into 3 or 4 oblique cells each containing a brown, shiny seed.

Habitat.--Luzon and Panay.

_Erythrina Indica_, Lam. (_E. corallodendron_, L.; _E. carnea_, Blanco.)

Nom. Vulg.--_Dapdap_, _Kasindik_, Tag.; _Dapdap_, _Kabrab_, Vis.; _Dapdap_, _Sulbang_, Pam.; _Indian Coral Tree_, Eng.

Uses.--This tree is well known on account of the beauty of its crimson flowers. The decoction of the leaves is a useful cleansing and deodorizing application for ulcers. The bruised leaves are used locally in painful affections of the joints and to abort syphilitic buboes and abscesses of all kinds. The juice of the tender leaves is used in Concan to destroy maggots in ulcers, and the powder has a similar use. A decoction is used locally in ophthalmia.

The root and the leaves are used as a febrifuge in the Philippines and in India, according to Wight. In Brazil the bark is given in small repeated doses as a hypnotic and in the Philippines as a diuretic and purgative; a decoction of the leaves is similarly used. The bark contains an alkaloid discovered by Rochefontaine and Rey, called _erythrin_, which acts upon the central nervous system, diminishing its normal functions even to the point of abolishment, without modifying motor excitability or muscular contractility. W. Young isolated a glucoside, _migarrhin_, similar to saponin, but possessing the additional property of dilating the pupil.

In bronchitis with dyspnoea the following infusion of bark is very useful:

Fresh bark, } Freshly bruised leaves, } aa 2 grams. Water 1,500 grams.

Boil till reduced one-half, filter and add:

Simple syrup 200 grams.

Dose: Wineglassful every two hours.

Botanical Description.--A large tree, 20° high, thorny, with ternate leaves. Leaflets rhomboid, broad, entire, glabrous. Secondary petioles: that of the middle leaflet long, bearing 2 glands, those of the others short, bearing 1 gland each. The leaves fall at the end of the rainy season and the flowers bloom. They are a handsome scarlet color, large, in terminal racemes. Calyx half-cylindrical, oblique, truncate, entire. Corolla papilionaceous; standard elongated, lanceolate. Wings short. Keel very short, 2-lobuled. Stamens diadelphous. Anthers large. Ovary woolly. Stigma thick. Pod curved, rounded, furrowed in parts corresponding to the seeds which are numerous, oval, pointed at the ends.

Habitat.--Common throughout the islands. Blooms in February.

_Clitoria ternatea,_ L.

Nom. Vulg.--_Kolokanting_, _Pakingang_, Tag.; _Kolokating_, Vis.; _Butterfly-pea_, Eng.

Uses.--The pounded seeds mixed with oil are used locally for painful joints. They possess purgative and emetic properties and Dr. J. Shartt has employed a mixture of the powdered roasted seeds, 8 grams, with double the quantity of acid tartrate of potassium. Its action is gentle, but sure. The alcoholic extract of the root, a soft, brown, resinous substance with an odor recalling that of jalap, is a very