Henbane (Fs., Jusguiame ; GER., Bilsenkraut).—A tincture or extract of the leaves of Hyoscyamus niger is used as a sedative, and anodyne. The herb grows wild in England, and is also cultivated by physic gardeners. In Europe, its range extends from Portugal and Greece, to Norway and Finland; it occurs also in Egypt, Asia Minor, Persia, Caucasia, N. India, and Siberia ; and has been introduced into N. America, and Brazil.
The following remarks refer to its cultivation at Mitcham, in Surrey :—The seeds are sown early in the spring ; the annual plants are thinned, if necessary, and the crop is gathered about July-August. The biennial plants are transplanted in the spring of the second year, and the harvesting of the crop lasts from late May to early July. Change of ground is usually given every 3-4 years, but does not seem to be essential. At Banbury and Hitchin, only the biennial plant is cultivated. The " annual henbane " of English commerce is not the produce of the annual plant, but consists usually of the first year's leaves of the biennial plant, which are distinguished by the presence of leaf-stalks, and the absence of flowers. Biennial henbane consists of the flowering tops of the second year's growth, which are generally broken up small ; it has no stalked leaves in it. The tincture of the biennial plant gives a milky solution when mixed with water, which is not the case with annual henbane. In Germany, the annual plant only appears to be known. The biennial is a much larger plant than the annual, and has more deeply cut leaves. It is a very uncertain crop, the seeds frequently remaining in the ground for a number of years before germinating, and the young leaves are infested by a small turnip fly and other insects. Hence the biennial drug varies much in price—from 4s. 6d. to lls. a lb. The stem-leaves and stems of the plant are used for the preparation of extract or swam Henbane is most active just before flowering. The plant grows best on well-manured, sandy, or chalky soil, especially near the sea. The foetid narcotic odour of the fresh herb is much diminished in the dried drug. In S. Europe, the drug is replaced by H. albus, a native of the Mediterranean basin ; and in the East, H. insanus, of Beluchistan, is some times smoked.
Iceland Moss (Fa., Lichen [Mousse] d'Islande ; GER., Isliindisches Moos).—A decoction of Cetraria Islandica is given as a mild tonic, usually with more active medicines. The lichen is widely distributed in high latitudes and altitudes, as Siberia, Scandinavia, Spitzbergen, Greenland, and Iceland, in the mountains of Scotland, Franca, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, in the Carpathians, in N. America, and in the Antarctic regions. Sweden is, perhaps, the chief country which exports it, though it is collected for local use in Iceland, Canton of Lucerne, and Spain. In Iceland, where the lichen is not sufficiently abundant to supply local demands, it is gathered in June and July, and is used as a farinaceous food, rather than as physic. It is occasionally exported to Denmark, in small quantities, from Reykjavik. The value of the drug is about 40s. a cwt.
Ipecacuanha (Fa., Ipecactumha onnelie ; GER., Brechwurzel).—The root of Cephalis Ipeca cuanha has long been known as au emetic, but has recently been recognized as a specific) in dysentery, and second only to cinchona in degree of importance as a tropical medicine. The plant is a shrub,
8-16 in. high, a native of S. America, growing gregariously on raised patches in moist and shady forests. between latitudes 8° and 22° S. It flourishes best in Para, Maranhao, Pernambuco, Bahia, Espiritu Santo, Minas Geraes, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and in that part of Matto Grosso which is occupied by the valley of the Rio Paraguay ; commercial supplies come chiefly from the district embraced between the towns of Diamantina, Villa Maria, Villa Bella, and Cuyabi (Matto Grosso); also from the neighbourhood of Philadelphia, on the Rio Todos os Santos, a feeder of the Muctiry. Besides the Brazilian localities above indicated, the plant flourishes in the valley of the Cauca, Colombia ; and probably also in the province of Chiquitos, Bolivia.
The successful introduction of ipecacuanha into India has for some years engaged the attention of the Government. A great difficulty exist° in the very slow growth of the plant, and the long period required to obtain anything like a stock, by the ordinary method of propagation by cuttings. According to J. MeNab, propagation by root divisions offers great advantages. The roots are cut into transverse sections, and placed horizontally on the surface of a pot, prepared with white sand, and drained ; the pot is put under a hand-glass, in a warm propagating bed, and kept moist. In a few weeks, the sections throw out buds, sometimes two or more at a time, in which case, the root may be severed so as to yield independent plants. As the buds grow, rootlets are formed on the nether side. Young plants can thus be rapidly produced, without injury to the parent. Supplies of plants or roots would have to be obtained from their native habitat. Their transport may be effected in Wardian cases ; but McNab proposes a cheaper and safer plan, viz. to collect fresh roots or rhizomes, and after sealing the out extremities, to place them longitudinally in a close-fitting packing-box of 1 in. wood, with a layer of fresh sphagnum moss between each two strata of roots. Where white sphagnum moss cannot be got, a substitute may be found in any moss, moistened, and squeezed to remove the excess. Failing any kind of moss, heavy soil from a depth of 6-8 in., retaining its natural moisture, may be used. In 1875, more than 100,000 young plants were grow ing in the Rungbee Botanic Gardens, Sikkim, having been raised by the root propagation system described above ; in 1877-8, some 26 lb. of dried root were obtained from these plants, and employed medicinally. The cultivated drug exhibited a decided superiority over the native article imported from Brazil. It appears certain, however, that the growth of this valuable plant as an outdoor orop will never succeed in Bengal or Sikkim, the low night temperature of the cold season proving too severe for it. In Ceylon, there seems to be little disposition to attempt the cultivation. The only E. Indian locality which seems to promise any hope of the successful culture of the plant on an extensive scale is, perhaps, Singapore ; the climate of the Botanic Garden there seems admirably suited to it.