Jaborandi.—Tbe leaves of Pilocarpus pennatifolius, and possibly of P. Selloanus, have been largely imported during the last few years from Pernambuco. The leaves are blunt at both ends, about the size and shape of laurel leaves, leathery, smooth, and when held up to the light are seen to be full of oil dots. The odour is pea-like, and, as well as the flavour, is somewhat pungent. The leaves, when tasted, cause an abundant flow of saliva. When taken internally, they produce most profuse perspiration, and have been used for this purpose in medicine. The active properties of the drug are due to pilocarpine, an alkaloid which yields crystalline salts. Other plants are used in different parts of S. America, under the same name. The leaves of one of these, a species of pepper, have occasionally been imported by mistake from Rio Janeiro. The leaves are thinner, pointed at both ends, do not show oil dots when held up to the light, and are often attached to twigs which have swollen joints.
Jalap (Fa., Jalap ; GER., Jalape).—The root of Ipomcea (Convolvubus, Exogonium) Purga is very largely used as a brisk cathartic. The plant is a native of the E. slopes of the Mexican Andes, flourishing principally about Chiconquiaco, San Salvador, and neighbouring villages on the Cofre de Perote, at an altitude of 5000-8000, and even 10,000 ft., in the deep rich soil of shady woods, where the daily temperature is 15°-24° (60°-75° F.), and under the influence of an exceedingly moist climate. It grows well in S. England, under shelter and protection from frost ; and would probably succeed in Madeira. It thrives remarkably on the Nilgiris, and in Jamaica. The tuberous roots are, in Mexico, unwisely dug up at all seasons, instead of only when the aerial stems have died down ; the best are gathered in March-April. When fresh, they are whitish, scarcely odorous, and filled with a viscid juice of acrid flavour. The smaller ones are dried whole, the larger oues are first sliced or gashed. The dampness of the climate precluding suu-drying, the operation is performed by suspending the roots in nets over the seldom vacant hearths of the Indian huts, whence they acquire a smoky look and sooty smell, They usually require 10-14 days' drying, when they are carried by the Indians to Jalapa (whence the name of the drug), where they aro bought by merchants, and despatched to Vera Cruz. The plant is now being partially cultivated by the Indians, which allows of the collection of its tubers in the proper season. The drying
might be improved by slicing the fresh roots, and subjecting them to gentle stove-heat. The wholesale price of the drug is about a lb. for good samples ; and 4(1.-104d. for inferior and stems. Our imports in 1870 (the latest return) were nearly 170,000 lb. Its cultivation is now being energetically carried on in Jamaica, where a patch of ground less than 2 acres in extent has produced nearly 5000 lb. of the drug in a short time.
True jalap is marked more or lees with small transverse whitish scars, the presence of which dis tinguishes it from the other varieties. Tampico jalap, the root of Ipomaa simulans, is frequently imported into this country in considerable quantities. It occurs in spindle-shaped or oval pieces, very much shrunken, and of a paler colour externally than true jalap. It much resembles Nepal aconite. It contains 11 per cent. of resin entirely soluble in ether, and is largely used in Germany for the preparation of jalapine, a purified form of the resin. The resin of true jalap-12-18 per cent.—is almost entirely insoluble in ether. Woody jalap, called also Orizaba root, male jalap, and jalap tops or stalks, Ipcmicea Orizabensis, occurs in angular blooks, which aro evidently pieces of a large root. It is easily distinguished by its fibrous character, the fibres projecting from the surface. It contains 11 per cent. of resin entirely soluble in ether ; and is of rare occurrence in the London drug market.
Jew'e fungus Hirneola polytricha, closely allied to the H. auricula-Jude of Europe and N. America, is enormously consumed in China, in the shape of a decoction, for purifying the blood ; also on fast days in lieu of animal food. The fungus is very abundant on decaying timber in all the forests of New Zealand, where it is collected, spread in the air or under sheds to dry, and shipped to Chinese ports. The price paid to the collectors is about Id. a lb., the declared value of the export being at the rate of 40. a lb. The total exports during the 7 years ending 1878, were 838 tone. Another species of the fungus is gathered in Tahiti for the same market ; 86 tons of this, valued at 2580/., were exported in 1878.
root of Piper methysticum, a native of the Fiji Islands, has lately been used in the United States, and in France, and to a slight extent in this country, as a remedy for gonorrhoea. The root is large, white, and woody, with a faint, agreeable, lilac-like odour. By the Polynesians, it is used as an intoxicating beverage.