Dita, or Alstonia.=-The bark of Alstonia (Echites) scholaris has tonic and antiperiodic pro perties, and has been extravagantly praised as a substitute for quinine. The plant is a handsome forest-tree, 50-90 ft. high, common from the Himalayas to Burma and Ceylon, and found in Java, Timor, the Philippines, E. Australia, and Tropical Africa. The bark is dirty-white in colour, almost devoid of odour, and has a pure bitter flavour, without aroma or acridity.
Alstonia constrieta, the Queensland Fever-bark, is used in Queensland as a substitute for quinine in fevers. It occurs in large quills, with a corky surface, and yellow colour and fibrous texture internally, and has an intensely bitter flavour. It has lately come into extensive use in the United States.
Duboisia.—The leaves of Duboisia myoporoides have lately been introduced into this country as a substitute for belladonna in the treatment of diseases of the eye. The is a native of Queensland, and occurs from Sydney to near Cape York ; it is found also in New Caledonia and New Guinea. The leaves are lanceolate and smooth, tapering at both ends, about 2-3 in. long, and nearly 1 in. broad in the middle. The alkaloid to which they owe their activity, called duboisine, has recently been shown by Ladenberg to be identical with hyoscyamine. (See Narcotics Pituri.) Elecampane (FR., Annee ; GER., Alant).—The root of mule Helenium is used in veterinary medicine; it is also employed in the manufacture of absinth. (See Alcoholic Liquors—Absinth.) The plant is distributed throughout Europe, occurring wild in Ireland and S. England, S. Norway, and Finland, and cultivated in Holland, England, Switzerland, and especially around Colleda, near Leipzig. Eastwards, its range extends to the Caucasus, S. Siberia, and the Himalayas ; westwards, to N. America. The root is gathered at the age of 2-3 years ; when older, it is too woody. The larger roots are sliced up before drying ; the smaller are dried whole. The dry drug is brittle, and of light-grey hue ; it has a weak aromatic odour, resembling orris and camphor ; its flavour is aromatic and slightly bitter ; its effects are tonic. In Syria, the root of Aplotaxis auriculata (A. Lappa, Auck landia Costus), which closely resembles the drug, is often mixed with it, and deserves examination.
Ergot of Rye, Spurred Rye (Fa., Seigle ergote' ; GER., Mutterhorn).—The spawn of the fungus Claviceps purpurea, produced on grasses of many genera, is employed in parturition. The fungus is to be found wherever cereals grow, but not in constant abundance ; wet seasons are favourable to its production, while it diminishes before high cultivation, and is not always sufficiently plentiful for collection. The formation of the fungus is first intimated by the appearance, on the
ears, of drops of a yellowish,' intensely sweet, and unpleasantly odorous mucus, termed " honey dew " ; these dry up and disappear in a few days, and the grain is occupied by the mycelium of the young fungus. The cereal most commonly attacked is rye, which is then known as "ergot of rye " or " spurred rye," and almost exclusively supplies the commercial drug. The diseased grains are picked out at harvest-time, thoroughly dried, and kept in closed bottles, to prevent deterioration, and the attacks of mites. The drug is very largely produced in Galicia, also in Central and S. Russia, and in Spain ; our imports are chiefly from Vigo and Teneriffe, and, in a less degree, from Odessa, Hamburg, and France. The wholesale value is about 3s.-3s. 3d. a lb. In some parts of France and Italy, ergots of wheat, which are shorter and thicker than those of rye, are picked out from corn which is to be made into vermicelli, and are said to keep better, and to cause none of the ill effects attributed to ergot of rye. Oath yield a more slender ergot, sometimes sold alone, or mixed with the common drug. Ergot of dies grows on Ampelodesmos tenax, in Algeria ; it is much longer and narrower than ergot of rye, and is said to be much more powerful.
Fern [Male] (Fn., Fougere male ; GER., Farn).—An ethereal extract of the root of Aspidium Fills mos. (Polyp chum, Nephrodium) is prescribed against all kinds of intestinal worms, but is most efficacious in cases of tapeworm. The plant is abundantly and widely distributed : it is met with all over Europe ; in Russia, Central Asia, the Himalayas, China, Japan, Java, and the Sandwich Islands ; from Algeria to the Cape, and in Mauritius ; in Greenland, Canada, California, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Peru. The root is collected from late autumn to early spring ; after eutting off all dead parts, it is split, gently dried, coarsely powdered, and immediately digested with ether; extract prepared from stale root has very diminished power. The drug is sometimes adulterated with other species : those generally used for this purpose show only two pale dots (vascular bundles) in the transverse section of the leaf bases ; male fern exhibits eight. The drug is worth about ls. a lb.