Vitex Peduncularis in the Treatment of Blackwater Fever

Sir,?I read with interest Dr. Measham's article on ' Vitex peduncularis in the Treatment of Blackwater Fever' appearing in the January 1940 issue of the Indian Medical Gazette. Indeed, there exists a common belief amongst the tea planters that Vitex "peduncularis is a cure for blackwater fever, and it is for this reason that the plant is being cultivated in numerous tea estates and forest nurseries. During recent years, the writer had a chance to observe closely not less than 20 cases of blackwater fever in Darjeeling-Terai, and has tried fresh decoction of the leaves of Vitex peduncularis in several of them. Owing to the fame it enjoys as a cure for blackwater fever, usually the patient's relatives procure the leaves from the neighbouring forest nursery and produce it before the physician to make a trial of it. From the few cases on which the drug was applied, it appears